Hvac system remote monitoring and diagnosis

ABSTRACT

A method of operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) monitoring service is described. The method includes: providing a local device for installation in an HVAC system of a residential or commercial building; periodically receiving data from the local device across a wide area network, wherein the received data includes electrical sensor data including at least one of current or power; and storing the received data. The method further includes: analyzing the stored data to selectively identify problems and selectively predict faults of the HVAC system; receiving a subscription fee corresponding to the building, the subscription fee applying to a calendar period; and during the calendar period, providing information on the identified problems and the predicted faults to a customer corresponding to the building.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/604,293, filed on Feb. 28, 2012. The entire disclosure of the aboveapplication is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to environmental comfort systems and moreparticularly to remote monitoring and diagnosis of residential and lightcommercial environmental comfort systems.

BACKGROUND

The background description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of thepresently named inventors, to the extent it is described in thisbackground section, as well as aspects of the description that may nototherwise qualify as pri- or art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the presentdisclosure.

A residential or light commercial HVAC (heating, ventilation, or airconditioning) system controls environmental parameters, such astemperature and humidity, of a residence. The HVAC system may include,but is not limited to, components that provide heating, cooling,humidification, and dehumidification. The target values for theenvironmental parameters, such as a temperature set point, may bespecified by a homeowner.

In FIG. 1, a block diagram of an example HVAC system is presented. Inthis particular example, a forced air system with a gas furnace isshown. Return air is pulled from the residence through a filter 110 by acirculator blower 114. The circulator blower 114, also referred to as afan, is controlled by a control module 118. The control module 118receives signals from a thermostat 122. For example only, the thermostat122 may include one or more temperature set points specified by thehomeowner.

The thermostat 122 may direct that the circulator blower 114 be turnedon at all times or only when a heat request or cool request is present.The circulator blower 114 may also be turned on at a scheduled time oron demand. In various implementations, the circulator blower 114 canoperate at multiple speeds or at any speed within a predetermined range.One or more switching relays (not shown) may be used to control thecirculator blower 114 and/or to select a speed of the circulator blower114.

The thermostat 122 also provides the heat and/or cool requests to thecontrol module 118. When a heat request is made, the control module 118causes a burner 126 to ignite. Heat from combustion is introduced to thereturn air provided by the circulator blower 114 in a heat exchanger130. The heated air is supplied to the residence and is referred to assupply air.

The burner 126 may include a pilot light, which is a small constantflame for igniting the primary flame in the burner 126. Alternatively,an intermittent pilot may be used in which a small flame is first litprior to igniting the primary flame in the burner 126. A sparker may beused for an intermittent pilot implementation or for direct burnerignition. Another ignition option includes a hot surface igniter, whichheats a surface to a high enough temperature that when gas isintroduced, the heated surface causes combustion to begin. Fuel forcombustion, such as natural gas, may be provided by a gas valve 128.

The products of combustion are exhausted outside of the residence, andan inducer blower 134 may be turned on prior to ignition of the burner126. The inducer blower 134 provides a draft to remove the products ofcombustion from the burner 126. The inducer blower 134 may remainrunning while the burner 126 is operating. In addition, the inducerblower 134 may continue running for a set period of time after theburner 126 turns off. In a high efficiency furnace, the products ofcombustion may not be hot enough to have sufficient buoyancy to exhaustvia conduction. Therefore, the inducer blower 134 creates a draft toexhaust the products of combustion.

A single enclosure, which will be referred to as an air handler unit208, may include the filter 110, the circulator blower 114, the controlmodule 118, the burner 126, the heat exchanger 130, the inducer blower134, an expansion valve 188, an evaporator 192, and a condensate pan196.

In the HVAC system of FIG. 1, a split air conditioning system is alsoshown. Refrigerant is circulated through a compressor 180, a condenser184, the expansion valve 188, and the evaporator 192. The evaporator 192is placed in series with the supply air so that when cooling is desired,the evaporator removes heat from the supply air, thereby cooling thesupply air. During cooling, the evaporator 192 is cold, which causeswater vapor to condense. This water vapor is collected in the condensatepan 196, which drains or is pumped out.

A control module 200 receives a cool request from the control module 118and controls the compressor 180 accordingly. The control module 200 alsocontrols a condenser fan 204, which increases heat exchange between thecondenser 184 and outside air. In such a split system, the compressor180, the condenser 184, the control module 200, and the condenser fan204 are located outside of the residence, often in a single condensingunit 212.

In various implementations, the control module 200 may simply include arun capacitor, a start capacitor, and a contactor or relay. In fact, incertain implementations, the start capacitor may be omitted, such aswhen a scroll compressor instead of a reciprocating compressor is beingused. The compressor 180 may be a variable capacity compressor and mayrespond to a multiple-level cool request. For example, the cool requestmay indicate a mid-capacity call for cool or a high-capacity call forcool.

The electrical lines provided to the condensing unit 212 may include a240 volt mains power line and a 24 volt switched control line. The 24volt control line may correspond to the cool request shown in FIG. 1.The 24 volt control line controls operation of the contactor. When thecontrol line indicates that the compressor should be on, the contactorcontacts close, connecting the 240 volt power supply to the compressor180. In addition, the contactor may connect the 240 volt power supply tothe condenser fan 204. In various implementations, such as when thecondensing unit 212 is located in the ground as part of a geothermalsystem, the condenser fan 204 may be omitted. When the 240 volt mainspower supply arrives in two legs, as is common in the U.S., thecontactor may have two sets of contacts, and is referred to as adouble-pole single-throw switch.

Monitoring of operation of components in the condensing unit 212 and theair handler unit 208 has traditionally been performed by multiplediscrete sensors, measuring current individually to each component. Forexample, a sensor may sense the current drawn by a motor, another sensormeasures resistance or current flow of an igniter, and yet anothersensor monitors a state of a gas valve. However, the cost of thesesensors and the time required for installation has made monitoring costprohibitive.

SUMMARY

A method of operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC)monitoring service is disclosed. The method includes: providing a localdevice for installation in an HVAC system of a residential or commercialbuilding; periodically receiving data from the local device across awide area network, wherein the received data includes electrical sensordata including at least one of current or power; and storing thereceived data. The method further includes: analyzing the stored data toselectively identify problems and selectively predict faults of the HVACsystem; receiving a subscription fee corresponding to the building, thesubscription fee applying to a calendar period; and during the calendarperiod, providing information on the identified problems and thepredicted faults to a customer corresponding to the building.

In further features, the method further includes selling the localdevice. A price of the local device includes the subscription fee, andthe calendar period begins when the local device is activated. In stillfurther features, the price of the local device includes a lifetimesubscription and the calendar period has no end date. In yet furtherfeatures, the building is a residence and the customer is a homeowner ofthe residence.

In further features, the local device is installed by a first HVACcontractor. In still further features, the subscription fee is receivedfrom the first HVAC contractor. In yet further features, the customerpays the first HVAC contractor a service fee for a maintenance plan, andthe subscription fee is paid by the first HVAC contractor from theservice fee. In further features, the information on the identifiedproblems and the predicted faults is also provided to the first HVACcontractor. In still further features, additional information on theidentified problems and the predicted faults is provided to the firstHVAC contractor.

In yet further features, the method further includes providing partinformation to the first HVAC contractor. The part information includesa list of one or more parts expected to be used in remedying theidentified problems and predicted faults. In still further features, themethod further includes providing skill information to the first HVACcontractor for use in selecting a technician. The skill informationincludes a list of skills expected to be needed in remedying theidentified problems and predicted faults.

In further features, the method further includes providing a secondlocal device for installation at the building. In yet further features,the local device is located proximate to an air handler unit of the HVACsystem and the second local device is located proximate to a condensingunit of the HVAC system. In still further features, the received dataincludes electrical sensor data of the air handler unit measured by thelocal device and includes electrical sensor data of the condensing unitmeasured by the second local device.

In yet further features, the providing information includes sending analert message to the customer. In still further features, the alertmessage includes at least one of a voicemail message, a text message, oran email message. In further features, the alert message includescontact information for an HVAC contractor. In yet further features, theproviding information includes calling the customer.

In still further features, the selectively identifying problems includesselectively identifying a reduced efficiency of the HVAC system inresponse to the stored data. In further features, the method furtherincludes waiting to send information regarding the reduced efficiency tothe customer until the reduced efficiency falls below a threshold. Inyet further features, the method further includes determining thethreshold based on a make and model number of the HVAC system. In stillfurther features, the method further includes determining the thresholdbased on an initial efficiency determination performed on the HVACsystem.

In further features, the wide area network includes the Internet. In yetfurther features, the method further includes aperiodically receivingdata over the wide area network in response to events in the HVACsystem. In still further features, the events include at least one of(i) a request for heating from a thermostat of the HVAC system and (ii)a request for cooling from the thermostat.

In further features, the electrical sensor data includes current andvoltage. In yet further features, the electrical sensor data includespower and power factor. In still further features, the electrical sensordata includes frequency domain current data. In further features, theelectrical sensor data includes time domain current data having a firstresolution, and the frequency domain current data was generated by thelocal device based on time domain current data having a secondresolution higher than the first resolution. In yet further features,the data includes air temperature sensor data and refrigeranttemperature sensor data. In still further features, the data includesair pressure sensor data. In further features, the data includesrefrigerant pressure sensor data.

In yet further features, the method further includes providingaggregated and anonymized data to original equipment manufacturers ofHVAC equipment. In still further features, the aggregated and anonymizeddata includes system efficiency data. In further features, theaggregated and anonymized data includes repair data.

In yet further features, the method further includes comparing receivedsensor data from before a repair was performed with received sensor datafrom after the repair was performed. In still further features, themethod further includes informing the customer of a result of thecomparison. In further features, the method further includes providing agraph of operating parameters of the HVAC system including a time periodbefore the repair was performed and a time period after the repair wasperformed.

In yet further features, the method further includes notifying atechnician of the identified problems and the predicted faults. Thetechnician analyzes the identified problems and the predicted faultsbefore information is provided to the customer. In still furtherfeatures, the method further includes providing contact information forthe technician to an HVAC contractor to allow the HVAC contractor todiscuss the identified problems and the predicted faults with thetechnician.

In further features, the method further includes selectively providing,to the customer, a recommendation to replace a consumable of the HVACsystem. In yet further features, the consumable is an air filter. Instill further features, the method further includes shipping theconsumable to the building. In further features, the method furtherincludes directing an HVAC contractor to deliver the consumable to thebuilding. In yet further features, the method further includesselectively providing, to at least one of an HVAC contractor or thecustomer, a recommendation to perform preventative maintenance. In stillfurther features, the preventative maintenance includes one or more ofcleaning evaporator coils of the HVAC system and cleaning condensercoils of the HVAC system.

In further features, the method further includes, in response toidentified problems and predicted faults: identifying faulty elementsmost likely to cause the identified problems and predicted faults;estimating a repair cost for the faulty elements; estimating areplacement cost for at least a subsystem of the HVAC system; andproviding a graphical interface to the customer including the repaircost and the replacement cost. In yet further features, the graphicalinterface includes a repair history of the HVAC system. In still furtherfeatures, the graphical interface includes an estimation of utilitycosts (i) after repairing the HVAC system and (ii) after replacing theHVAC system.

In further features, the method further includes: providing a graphicalinterface to the customer; and in the graphical interface, displaying atimeline of operating parameters of the HVAC system. The operatingparameters are obtained from the stored data. In yet further features,the operating parameters are calculated from the stored data using oneor more mathematical functions. In still further features, the methodfurther includes, in the graphical interface, displaying the timelinewith graphical data.

In further features, the method further includes, in the graphicalinterface, displaying the timeline with textual data. In yet furtherfeatures, the method further includes, in the graphical interface,displaying raw numbers from the stored data. In still further features,the local device was installed in the HVAC system at a first point intime, and the stored data covers from the first point in time to apresent point in time. In further features, the method further includesallowing the customer to zoom in on a selected time period of the storeddata.

A monitoring system for a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning(HVAC) system in a residential or commercial building is disclosed. Anair handler monitor module is installed proximate to an air handler unitof the HVAC system. The air handler monitor module includes: adifferential pressure sensor that measures a pressure differentialbetween a supply air plenum of the HVAC system and a return air plenumof the HVAC system; a first air temperature sensor that measures atemperature of the supply air plenum; a second air temperature sensorthat measures a temperature of the return air plenum; a firstrefrigerant temperature sensor that measures a temperature ofrefrigerant in a liquid line leading to an expansion valve of the HVACsystem; a second refrigerant temperature sensor that measures atemperature of refrigerant in a suction line leading to a compressor ofthe HVAC system; a first current transformer that measures currentsupplied to the air handler unit; and a first voltage transformer thatprovides operating power to the air handler monitor module. The airhandler monitor module measures a voltage received from the firstvoltage transformer. The air handler monitor module determines a powerfactor of power provided to the air handling unit. The air handlermonitor module measures values of control lines controlled by athermostat of the HVAC system. The air handler monitor module convertsmeasured current data from time domain current data to frequency domaincurrent data. A condensing monitor module is installed proximate to acondensing unit of the HVAC system. The condensing unit includes thecompressor, and the condensing monitor module includes: a second currenttransformer that measures current supplied to the condensing unit; and asecond voltage transformer that provides operating power to thecondensing monitor module. The condensing monitor module measures avoltage received from the second voltage transformer. The condensingmonitor module determines a power factor of power provided to thecondensing unit. The condensing monitor module transmits the measuredcurrent, the measured voltage, and the determined power factor to theair handler monitor module over one or more of the control lines. Theair handler monitor module transmits data to a remote monitoring servervia a wireless connection, compliant with IEEE 802.11, to an accesspoint in the building. The transmitted data includes the measuredtemperatures, the measured voltages, the measured differential pressure,the determined power factors, the frequency domain current data, and asubset of the time domain current data. The time domain current data hasa first resolution and the subset of the time domain current data has asecond resolution that is lower than the first resolution.

A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) analysis system isdisclosed. The HVAC analysis system includes: a data receiver moduleconfigured to receive sensor data from an HVAC system installed in abuilding; a data store module configured to record the received sensordata; a fault module configured to identify faulty elements of the HVACsystem in response to the recorded sensor data; a repair estimationmodule configured to estimate a repair cost for the faulty elements; areplace estimation module configured to estimate a replacement cost forat least a subsystem of the HVAC system; and a data formatter moduleconfigured to supply the repair cost and the replacement cost to a userinterface provided to a customer corresponding to the building.

A method of analyzing a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC)system installed in a building is disclosed. The method includes:receiving sensor data from the HVAC system; recording the receivedsensor data; identifying faulty elements of the HVAC system in responseto the recorded sensor data; estimating a repair cost for the faultyelements; estimating a replacement cost for at least a subsystem of theHVAC system; providing a graphical interface to a customer correspondingto the building; and in the graphical interface, displaying the repaircost and the replacement cost.

A method of monitoring a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning(HVAC) system installed in a residential or commercial building isdisclosed. The method includes: receiving sensor data from the HVACsystem, wherein the received sensor data includes electrical sensor dataincluding at least one of current or power; recording the receivedsensor data; providing a graphical interface to a customer correspondingto the building; and, in the graphical interface, displaying a timelineof operating parameters of the HVAC system, wherein the operatingparameters are obtained from the recorded sensor data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example HVAC system according to theprior art;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an example monitoring systemshowing an HVAC system of a single building;

FIGS. 3A-3C are functional block diagrams of control signal interactionwith an air handler monitor module;

FIG. 4A is a functional block diagram of an example implementation of anair handler monitor module;

FIG. 4B is a functional block diagram of an example implementation of acondensing monitor module;

FIG. 5A is a functional block diagram of an example implementation of anair handler monitor module;

FIG. 5B is a functional block diagram of an example implementation of acondensing monitor module;

FIG. 5C is a high level functional block diagram of an exampleimplementation of a remote monitoring system;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are flowcharts depicting brief overviews of exampleinstallation procedures in retrofit applications;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of example operation in capturing frames of data;

FIG. 8 is an example functional schematic of example HVAC components;

FIG. 9 is an example time domain trace of aggregate current for abeginning of a heat cycle;

FIGS. 10A-10C are example illustrations of graphical displays presentedto a customer;

FIG. 11 is an example implementation of cloud processing of captureddata; and

FIGS. 12A and 12B are, for indoor and outdoor units, respectively,non-exhaustive listings of example problems that can be detected and/orpredicted according to the present disclosure.

In the drawings, reference numbers may be reused to identify similarand/or identical elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This application is co-pending with U.S. application Ser. No.13/407,180, filed on Feb. 28, 2012 and published as U.S. Pub. No.2012/0221150, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/447,681, filed on Feb. 28, 2011, and U.S. Provisional Application No.61/548,009, filed on Oct. 17, 2011. The entire disclosures of the aboveapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

According to the present disclosure, sensing/monitoring modules can beintegrated with a residential or light commercial HVAC (heating,ventilation, or air conditioning) system. As used in this application,the term HVAC can encompass all environmental comfort systems in abuilding, including heating, cooling, humidifying, and dehumidifying,and covers devices such as furnaces, heat pumps, humidifiers,dehumidifiers, and air conditioners. The term HVAC is a broad term, inthat an HVAC system according to this application does not necessarilyinclude both heating and air conditioning, and may instead have only oneor the other.

In split HVAC systems with an air handler unit (often, indoors) and acondensing unit (often, outdoors), an air handler monitor module and acondensing monitor module, respectively, can be used. The air handlermonitor module and the condensing monitor module may be integrated bythe manufacturer of the HVAC system, may be added at the time of theinstallation of the HVAC system, and/or may be retrofitted to anexisting system.

The air handler monitor and condensing monitor modules monitor operatingparameters of associated components of the HVAC system. For example, theoperating parameters may include power supply current, power supplyvoltage, operating and ambient temperatures, fault signals, and controlsignals. The air handler monitor and condensing monitor modules maycommunicate data between each other, while one or both of the airhandler monitor and condensing monitor modules uploads data to a remotelocation. The remote location may be accessible via any suitablenetwork, including the Internet.

The remote location includes one or more computers, which will bereferred to as servers. The servers execute a monitoring system onbehalf of a monitoring company. The monitoring system receives andprocesses the data from the air handler monitor and condensing monitormodules of customers who have such systems installed. The monitoringsystem can provide performance information, diagnostic alerts, and errormessages to a customer and/or third parties, such as a designated HVACcontractor.

The air handler monitor and condensing monitor modules may each sense anaggregate current for the respective unit without measuring individualcurrents of individual components. The aggregate current data may beprocessed using frequency domain analysis, statistical analysis, andstate machine analysis to determine operation of individual componentsbased on the aggregate current data. This processing may happenpartially or entirely in a server environment, remote from thecustomer's building or residence.

Based on measurements from the air handler monitor and condensingmonitor modules, the monitoring company can determine whether HVACcomponents are operating at their peak performance and can advise thecustomer and the contractor when performance is reduced. Thisperformance reduction may be measured for the system as a whole, such asin terms of efficiency, and/or may be monitored for one or moreindividual components.

In addition, the monitoring system may detect and/or predict failures ofone or more components of the system. When a failure is detected, thecustomer can be notified and potential remediation steps can be takenimmediately. For example, components of the HVAC system may be shut downto minimize damage of HVAC components and/or prevent water damage. Thecontractor can also be notified that a service call will be required.Depending on the contractual relationship between the customer and thecontractor, the contractor may immediately schedule a service call tothe building.

The monitoring system may provide specific information to thecontractor, including identifying information of the customer's HVACsystem, including make and model numbers, as well as indications of thespecific part numbers that appear to be failing. Based on thisinformation, the contractor can allocate the correct repair personnelthat have experience with the specific HVAC system and/or component. Inaddition, the service technician is able to bring replacement parts,avoiding return trips after diagnosis.

Depending on the severity of the failure, the customer and/or contractormay be advised of relevant factors in determining whether to repair theHVAC system or replace some or all of the components of the HVAC system.For example only, these factors may include relative costs of repairversus replacement, and may include quantitative or qualitativeinformation about advantages of replacement equipment. For example,expected increases in efficiency and/or comfort with new equipment maybe provided. Based on historical usage data and/or electricity or othercommodity prices, the comparison may also estimate annual savingsresulting from the efficiency improvement.

As mentioned above, the monitoring system may also predict impendingfailures. This allows for preventative maintenance and repair prior toan actual failure. Alerts regarding detected or impending failuresreduce the time when the HVAC system is out of operation and allows formore flexible scheduling for both the customer and contractor. If thecustomer is out of town, these alerts may prevent damage from occurringwhen the customer is not present to detect the failure of the HVACsystem. For example, failure of heat in winter may lead to pipesfreezing and bursting.

Alerts regarding potential or impending failures may specify statisticaltimeframes before the failure is expected. For example only, if a sensoris intermittently providing bad data, the monitoring system may specifyan expected amount of time before it is likely that the sensoreffectively stops working due to the prevalence of bad data. Further,the monitoring system may explain, in quantitative or qualitative terms,how the current operation and/or the potential failure will affectoperation of the HVAC system. This enables the customer to prioritizeand budget for repairs.

For the monitoring service, the monitoring company may charge a periodicrate, such as a monthly rate. This charge may be billed directly to thecustomer and/or may be billed to the contractor. The contractor may passalong these charges to the customer and/or may make other arrangements,such as by requiring an up-front payment upon installation and/orapplying surcharges to repairs and service visits.

For the air handler monitor and condensing monitor modules, themonitoring company or contractor may charge the customer the equipmentcost, including the installation cost, at the time of installationand/or may recoup these costs as part of the monthly fee. Alternatively,rental fees may be charged for the air handler monitor and condensingmonitor modules, and once the monitoring service is stopped, the airhandler monitor and condensing monitor modules may be returned.

The monitoring service may allow the customer and/or contractor toremotely monitor and/or control HVAC components, such as settingtemperature, enabling or disabling heating and/or cooling, etc. Inaddition, the customer may be able to track energy usage, cycling timesof the HVAC system, and/or historical data. Efficiency and/or operatingcosts of the customer's HVAC system may be compared against HVAC systemsof neighbors, whose buildings will be subject to the same or similarenvironmental conditions. This allows for direct comparison of HVACsystem and overall building efficiency because environmental variables,such as temperature and wind, are controlled.

The monitoring system can be used by the contractor during and afterinstallation, and during and after repair to verify operation of the airhandler monitor and condensing monitor modules, as well as to verifycorrect installation of the components of the HVAC system. In addition,the customer may review this data in the monitoring system for assurancethat the contractor correctly installed and configured the HVAC system.In addition to being uploaded to the remote monitoring service (alsoreferred to as the cloud), monitored data may be transmitted to a localdevice in the building. For example, a smartphone, laptop, orproprietary portable device may receive monitoring information todiagnose problems and receive real-time performance data. Alternatively,data may be uploaded to the cloud and then downloaded onto a localcomputing device, such as via the Internet from an interactive web site.

The historical data collected by the monitoring system may allow thecontractor to properly specify new HVAC components and to better tuneconfiguration, including dampers and set points of the HVAC system. Theinformation collected may be helpful in product development andassessing failure modes. The information may be relevant to warrantyconcerns, such as determining whether a particular problem is covered bya warranty. Further, the information may help to identify conditions,such as unauthorized system modifications, that could potentially voidwarranty coverage.

Original equipment manufacturers may subsidize partially or fully thecost of the monitoring system and air handler and condensing monitormodules in return for access to this information. Installation andservice contractors may also subsidize some or all of these costs inreturn for access to this information, and for example, in exchange forbeing recommended by the monitoring system. Based on historical servicedata and customer feedback, the monitoring system may provide contractorrecommendations to customers.

In FIG. 2, a functional block diagram of an example system installed ina building 300 is presented. In various implementations, the buildingmay be a single-family residence, and the customer is the homeowner, ora lessee or renter. The building 300 includes, for example only, a splitsystem with an air handler unit 304 and a condensing unit 308. Thecondensing unit 308 includes a compressor, a condenser, a condenser fan,and associated electronics, represented collectively in FIG. 2 ascompressor/condenser 312. In many systems, the air handler unit 304 islocated inside the building 300, while the condensing unit 308 islocated outside the building 300.

The present disclosure is not limited, and applies to other systemsincluding, as examples only, systems where the components of the airhandler unit 304 and the condensing unit 308 are located in closeproximity to each other or even in a single enclosure. The singleenclosure may be located inside or outside of the building 300. Invarious implementations, the air handler unit 304 may be located in abasement, garage, or attic. In ground source systems, where heat isexchanged with the earth, the air handler unit 304 and the condensingunit 308 may be located near the earth, such as in a basement,crawlspace, garage, or on the first floor, such as when the first flooris separated from the earth by only a concrete slab.

According to the principles of the present disclosure, a condensingmonitor module 316 is located within or in close proximity to thecondensing unit 308. The condensing monitor module 316 monitorsparameters of the condensing unit 308 including current, voltage, andtemperatures.

In one implementation, the current measured is a single power supplycurrent that represents the aggregate current draw of the entirecondensing unit 308 from an electrical panel 318. A current sensor 320measures the current supplied to the condensing unit 308 and providesmeasured data to the condensing monitor module 316. For example only,the condensing unit 308 may receive an AC line voltage of approximately240 volts. The current sensor 320 may sense current of one of the legsof the 240 volt power supply. A voltage sensor (not shown) may sense thevoltage of one or both of the legs of the AC voltage supply. The currentsensor 320 may include a current transformer, a current shunt, and/or ahall effect device. In various implementations, a power sensor may beused in addition to or in place of the current sensor 320. Current maybe calculated based on the measured power, or profiles of the poweritself may be used to evaluate operation of components of the condensingunit 308.

An air handler monitor module 322 monitors the air handler unit 304. Forexample, the air handler monitor module 322 may monitor current,voltage, and various temperatures. In one implementation, the airhandler monitor module 322 monitors an aggregate current drawn by theentire air handler unit 304. When the air handler unit 304 providespower to an HVAC control module 360, the aggregate current includescurrent drawn by the HVAC control module 360. A current sensor 324measures current delivered to the air handler unit 304 by the electricalpanel 318. The current sensor 324 may be similar to the current sensor320. Voltage sensors (not shown) may be located near the current sensors324 and 320. The voltage sensors provide voltage data to the air handlerunit 304 and the condensing unit 308.

The air handler monitor module 322 and the condensing monitor module 316may evaluate the voltage to determine various parameters. For example,frequency, amplitude, RMS voltage, and DC offset may be calculated basedon the measured voltage. In situations where 3-phase power is used, theorder of the phases may be determined. Information about when thevoltage crosses zero may be used to synchronize various measurements andto determine frequency based on counting the number of zero crossingswithin a predetermine time period.

The air handler unit 304 includes a blower, a burner, and an evaporator.In various implementations, the air handler unit 304 includes anelectrical heating device instead of or in addition to the burner. Theelectrical heating device may provide backup or secondary heat. Thecondensing monitor module 316 and the air handler monitor module 322share collected data with each other. When the current measured is theaggregate current draw, in either the air handler monitor module 322 orthe condensing monitor module 316, contributions to the current profileare made by each component. It may be difficult, therefore, to easilydetermine in the time domain how the measured current corresponds toindividual components. However, when additional processing is available,such as in a monitoring system, which may include server and othercomputing resources, additional analysis, such as frequency domainanalysis, can be performed.

The frequency domain analysis may allow individual contributions of HVACsystem components to be determined. Some of the advantages of using anaggregate current measurement may include reducing the number of currentsensors that would otherwise be necessary to monitor each of the HVACsystem components. This reduces bill of materials costs, as well asinstallation costs and potential installation problems. Further,providing a single time domain current stream may reduce the amount ofbandwidth necessary to upload the current data. Nevertheless, thepresent disclosure could also be used with additional current sensors.

Further, although not shown in the figures, additional sensors, such aspressure sensors, may be included and connected to the air handlermonitor module 322 and/or the condensing monitor module 316. Thepressure sensors may be associated with return air pressure or supplyair pressure, and/or with pressures at locations within the refrigerantloop. Air flow sensors may measure mass air flow of the supply airand/or the return air. Humidity sensors may measure relative humidity ofthe supply air and/or the return air, and may also measure ambienthumidity inside or outside the building 300.

In various implementations, the principles of the present disclosure maybe applied to monitoring other systems, such as a hot water heater, aboiler heating system, a refrigerator, a refrigeration case, a poolheater, a pool pump/filter, etc. As an example, the hot water heater mayinclude an igniter, a gas valve (which may be operated by a solenoid),an igniter, an inducer blower, and a pump. Aggregate current readingscan be analyzed by the monitoring company to assess operation of theindividual components of the hot water heater. Aggregate loads, such asthe hot water heater or the air handler unit 304, may be connected to anAC power source via a smart outlet, a smart plug, or a high amp loadcontrol switch, each of which may provide an indication when a connecteddevice is activated.

In one implementation, which is shown in FIG. 2, the condensing monitormodule 316 provides data to the air handler monitor module 322, and theair handler monitor module 322 provides data from both the air handlermonitor module 322 and the condensing monitor module 316 to a remotemonitoring system 330. The monitoring system 330 is reachable via adistributed network such as the Internet 334. Alternatively, any othersuitable network, such as a wireless mesh network or a proprietarynetwork, may be used.

In various other implementations, the condensing monitor module 316 maytransmit data from the air handler monitor module 322 and the condensingmonitor module 316 to an external wireless receiver. The externalwireless receiver may be a proprietary receiver for a neighborhood inwhich the building 300 is located, or may be an infrastructure receiver,such as a metropolitan area network (such as WiMAX), a WiFi accesspoint, or a mobile phone base station.

In the implementation of FIG. 2, the air handler monitor module 322relays data between the condensing monitor module 316 and the monitoringsystem 330. For example, the air handler monitor module 322 may accessthe Internet 334 using a router 338 of the customer. The customer router338 may already be present to provide Internet access to other deviceswithin the building 300, such as a customer computer 342 and/or variousother devices having Internet connectivity, such as a DVR (digital videorecorder) or a video gaming system.

The air handler monitor module 322 may communicate with the customerrouter 338 via a gateway 346. The gateway 346 translates informationreceived from the air handler monitor module 322 into TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) packets and viceversa. The gateway 346 then forwards those packets to the customerrouter 338. The gateway 346 may connect to the customer router 338 usinga wired or wireless connection. The air handler monitor module 322 maycommunicate with the gateway 346 using a wired or wireless connection.For example, the interface between the gateway 346 and the customerrouter 338 may be Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) or WiFi (IEEE 802.11).

The interface between the air handler monitor module 322 and the gateway346 may include a wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth, ZigBee (IEEE802.15.4), 900 Megahertz, 2.4 Gigahertz, WiFi (IEEE 802.11), and otherproprietary or standardized protocols. The air handler monitor module322 may communicate with the condensing monitor module 316 using wiredor wireless protocols. For example only, the air handler monitor module322 and the condensing monitor module 316 may communicate using powerline communications, which may be sent over a line voltage (such as 240volts) or a stepped-down voltage, such as 24 volts, or a dedicatedcommunications line.

The air handler monitor module 322 and the condensing monitor module 316may transmit data within frames conforming to the ClimateTalk™ standard,which may include the ClimateTalk Alliance HVAC Application Profilev1.1, released Jun. 23, 2011, the ClimateTalk Alliance GenericApplication Profile, v1.1, released Jun. 23, 2011, and the ClimateTalkAlliance Application Specification, v1.1, released Jun. 23, 2011, theentire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Invarious implementations, the gateway 346 may encapsulate ClimateTalk™frames into IP packets, which are transmitted to the monitoring system330. The monitoring system 330 then extracts the ClimateTalk™ frames andparses the data contained within the ClimateTalk™ frames. The monitoringsystem 330 may send return information, including monitoring controlsignals and/or HVAC control signals, using ClimateTalk™.

The wireless communications described in the present disclosure can beconducted in full or partial compliance with IEEE standard 802.11-2012,IEEE standard 802.16-2009, IEEE standard 802.20-2008, and/or BluetoothCore Specification v4.0. In various implementations, Bluetooth CoreSpecification v4.0 may be modified by one or more of Bluetooth CoreSpecification Addendums 2, 3, or 4. In various implementations, IEEE802.11-2012 may be supplemented by draft IEEE standard 802.11ac, draftIEEE standard 802.11ad, and/or draft IEEE standard 802.11ah. Inaddition, other proprietary or standardized wireless or wired protocolmay be used between monitor modules, gateway,

For example, the interface between the gateway 346 and the customerrouter 338 may be Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) or WiFi (IEEE 802.11). Theinterface between the air handler monitor module 322 and the gateway 346may include a wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth, ZigBee (IEEE802.15.4), 900 Megahertz, 2.4 Gigahertz, WiFi (IEEE 802.11), and otherproprietary or standardized protocols

The HVAC control module 360 controls operation of the air handler unit304 and the condensing unit 308. The HVAC control module 360 may operatebased on control signals from a thermostat 364. The thermostat 364 maytransmit requests for fan, heat, and cool to the HVAC control module360. One or more of the control signals may be intercepted by the airhandler monitor module 322. Various implementations of interactionbetween the control signals and the air handler monitor module 322 areshown below in FIGS. 3A-3C.

Additional control signals may be present in various HVAC systems. Forexample only, a heat pump may include additional control signals, suchas a control signal for a reversing valve (not shown). The reversingvalve selectively reverses the flow of refrigerant from what is shown inthe figures depending on whether the system is heating the building orcooling the building. Further, when the flow of refrigerant is reversed,the roles of the evaporator and condenser are reversed—i.e., refrigerantevaporation occurs in what is labeled the condenser while refrigerantcondensation occurs in what is labeled as the evaporator.

The thermostat 364 and/or the HVAC control module 360 may includecontrol signals for secondary heating and/or secondary cooling, whichmay be activated when the primary heating or primary cooling isinsufficient. In dual fuel systems, such as systems operating fromeither electricity or natural gas, control signals related to theselection of the fuel may be monitored. Further, additional status anderror signals may be monitored, such as a defrost status signal, whichmay be asserted when the compressor is shut off and a defrost heateroperates to melt frost from an evaporator.

In various implementations, the thermostat 364 may use the gateway 346to communicate with the Internet 334. In one implementation, thethermostat 364 does not communicate directly with the air handlermonitor module 322 or the condensing monitor module 316. Instead, thethermostat 364 communicates with the monitoring system 330, which maythen provide information or control signals to the air handler monitormodule 322 and/or the condensing monitor module 316 based on informationfrom the thermostat 364. Using the monitoring system 330, the customeror contractor may send signals to the thermostat 364 to manually enableheating or cooling (regardless of current temperature settings), or tochange set points, such as desired instant temperature and temperatureschedules. In addition, information from the thermostat 364, such ascurrent temperature and historical temperature trends, may be viewed.

The monitoring system 330 may provide alerts for situations such asdetected or predicted failures to the customer computer 342 and/or toany other electronic device of the customer. For example, the monitoringsystem 330 may provide an alert to a mobile device 368 of the customer,such as a mobile phone or a tablet. The alerts are shown in FIG. 2 withdashed lines indicating that the alerts may not travel directly to thecustomer computer 342 or the customer mobile device 368 but maytraverse, for example, the Internet 334 and/or a mobile provider network(not shown). The alerts may take any suitable form, including textmessages, emails, social networking messages, voicemails, phone calls,etc.

The monitoring system 330 also interacts with a contractor device 372.The contractor device 372 may then interface with mobile devices carriedby individual contractors. Alternatively, the monitoring system 330 maydirectly provide alerts to predetermined mobile devices of thecontractor. In the event of an impending or detected failure, themonitoring system 330 may provide information regarding identificationof the customer, identification of the HVAC system, the part or partsrelated to the failure, and/or the skills required to perform themaintenance.

In various implementations, the monitoring system 330 may transmit aunique identifier of the customer or the building to the contractordevice 372. The contractor device 372 may include a database indexed bythe unique identifier, which stores information about the customerincluding the customer's address, contractual information such asservice agreements, and detailed information about the installed HVACequipment.

The air handler monitor module 322 and the condensing monitor module 316may receive respective sensor signals, such as water sensor signals. Forexample, the air handler monitor module 322 may receive signals from afloat switch 376, a condensate sensor 380, and a conduction sensor 384.The condensate sensor 380 may include a device as described in commonlyassigned patent application Ser. No. 13/162,798, filed Jun. 17, 2011,titled Condensate Liquid Level Sensor and Drain Fitting, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Where the air handler unit 304 is performing air conditioning,condensation occurs and is captured in a condensate pan. The condensatepan drains, often via a hose, into a floor drain or a condensate pump,which pumps the condensate to a suitable drain. The condensate sensor380 detects whether the drain hose has been plugged, a condition whichwill eventually cause the condensate pan to overflow, potentiallycausing damage to the HVAC system and to surrounding portions of thebuilding 300.

The air handler unit 304 may be located on a catch pan, especially insituations where the air handler unit 304 is located above living spaceof the building 300. The catch pan may include the float switch 376.When enough liquid accumulates in the catch pan, the float switch 376provides an over-level signal to the air handler monitor module 322.

The conduction sensor 384 may be located on the floor or other surfacewhere the air handler unit 304 is located. The conduction sensor 384 maysense water leaks that are for one reason or another not detected by thefloat switch 376 or the condensate sensor 380, including leaks fromother systems such as a hot water heater.

In FIG. 3A, an example of control signal interaction with the airhandler monitor module 322 is presented. In this example, the airhandler monitor module 322 taps into the fan and heat request signals.For example only, the HVAC control module 360 may include terminalblocks where the fan and heat signals are received. These terminalblocks may include additional connections where leads can be attachedbetween these additional connections and the air handler monitor module322.

Alternatively, leads from the air handler monitor module 322 may beattached to the same location as the fan and heat signals, such as byputting multiple spade lugs underneath a signal screw head. The coolsignal from the thermostat 364 may be disconnected from the HVAC controlmodule 360 and attached to the air handler monitor module 322. The airhandler monitor module 322 then provides a switched cool signal to theHVAC control module 360. This allows the air handler monitor module 322to interrupt operation of the air conditioning system, such as upondetection of water by one of the water sensors. The air handler monitormodule 322 may also interrupt operation of the air conditioning systembased on information from the condensing monitor module 316, such asdetection of a locked rotor condition in the compressor.

In FIG. 3B, the fan, heat, and cool signals are connected to the airhandler monitor module 322 instead of to the HVAC control module 360.The air handler monitor module 322 then provides fan, heat, and switchedcool signals to the HVAC control module 360. In various otherimplementations, the air handler monitor module 322 may also switch thefan and/or heat signals.

In FIG. 3C, a thermostat 400 may use a proprietary or digital form ofcommunication instead of discrete request lines such as those used bythe thermostat 364. Especially in installations where the thermostat 400is added after the HVAC control module 360 has been installed, anadapter 404 may translate the proprietary signals into individual fan,heat, and cool request signals. The air handler monitor module 322 canthen be connected similarly to FIG. 3A (as shown) or FIG. 3B.

In FIG. 4A, a functional block diagram of an example implementation ofthe air handler monitor module 322 is presented. A control line monitormodule 504 receives the fan, heat, and cool request signals. Acompressor interrupt module 508 also receives the cool request signal.Based on a disable signal, the compressor interrupt module 508deactivates the switched cool signal. Otherwise, the compressorinterrupt module 508 may pass the cool signal through as the switchedcool signal.

The control line monitor module 504 may also receive additional controlsignals, depending on application, including second stage heat, secondstage cool, reversing valve direction, defrost status signal, and dualfuel selection.

A wireless transceiver 512 communicates using an antenna 516 with awireless host, such as a gateway 346, a mobile phone base station, or aWiFi (IEEE 802.11) or WiMax (IEEE 802.16) base station. A formattingmodule 520 forms data frames, such as ClimateTalk™ frames, includingdata acquired by the air handler monitor module 322. The formattingmodule 520 provides the data frames to the wireless transceiver 512 viaa switching module 524.

The switching module 524 receives data frames from the monitoring system330 via the wireless transceiver 512. Additionally or alternatively, thedata frames may include control signals. The switching module 524provides the data frames received from the wireless transceiver 512 tothe formatting module 520. However, if the data frames are destined forthe condensing monitor module 316, the switching module 524 may insteadtransmit those frames to a power-line communication module 528 fortransmission to the condensing monitor module 316.

A power supply 532 provides power to some or all of the components ofthe air handler monitor module 322. The power supply 532 may beconnected to line voltage, which may be single phase 120 volt AC power.Alternatively, the power supply 532 may be connected to a stepped-downvoltage, such as a 24 volt power supply already present in the HVACsystem. When the power received by the power supply 532 is also providedto the condensing monitor module 316, the power-line communicationmodule 528 can communicate with the condensing monitor module 316 viathe power supply 532. In other implementations, the power supply 532 maybe distinct from the power-line communication module 528. The power-linecommunication module 528 may instead communicate with the condensingmonitor module 316 using another connection, such as the switched coolsignal (which may be a switched 24 volt line) provided to the condensingmonitor module 316, another control line, a dedicated communicationsline, etc.

In various implementations, power to some components of the air handlermonitor module 322 may be provided by 24 volt power from the thermostat364. For example only, the cool request from the thermostat 364 mayprovide power to the compressor interrupt module 508. This may bepossible when the compressor interrupt module 508 does not need tooperate (and therefore does not need to be powered) unless the coolrequest is present, thereby powering the compressor interrupt module508.

Data frames from the condensing monitor module 316 are provided to theswitching module 524, which forwards those frames to the wirelesstransceiver 512 for transmission to the gateway 346. In variousimplementations, data frames from the condensing monitor module 316 arenot processed by the air handler monitor module 322 other than toforward the frames to the gateway 346. In other implementations, the airhandler monitor module 322 may combine data gathered by the air handlermonitor module 322 with data gathered by the condensing monitor module316 and transmit combined data frames.

In addition, the air handler monitor module 322 may perform datagathering or remedial operations based on the information from thecondensing monitor module 316. For example only, the condensing monitormodule 316 may transmit a data frame to the air handler monitor module322 indicating that the air handler monitor module 322 should monitorvarious inputs. For example only, the condensing monitor module 316 maysignal that the compressor is about to start running or has startedrunning. The air handler monitor module 322 may then monitor relatedinformation.

Therefore, the formatting module 520 may provide such a monitoringindication from the condensing monitor module 316 to a trigger module536. The trigger module 536 determines when to capture data, or if datais being continuously captured, which data to store, process, and/orforward. The trigger module 536 may also receive a signal from an errormodule 540. The error module 540 may monitor an incoming current andgenerate an error signal when the current is at too high of a level fortoo long of a time.

The condensing monitor module 316 may be configured similarly to the airhandler monitor module 322. In the condensing monitor module 316, acorresponding error module may determine that a high current levelindicates a locked rotor condition of the compressor. For example only,a baseline run current may be stored, and a current threshold calculatedby multiplying the baseline run current by a predetermined factor. Thelocked rotor condition may then be determined when a measurement ofcurrent exceeds the current threshold. This processing may occur locallybecause a quick response time to a locked rotor is beneficial.

The error module 540 may instruct the trigger module 536 to captureinformation to help diagnose this error and/or may send a signal to thecompressor interrupt module 508 to disable the compressor. The disablesignal received by the compressor interrupt module 508 may causedisabling of the compressor interrupt module 508 when either the errormodule 540 or the formatting module 520 indicates that the interruptionis required. This logical operation is illustrated with an OR gate 542.

The formatting module 520 may disable the compressor based on aninstruction from the monitoring system 330 and/or the condensing monitormodule 316. For example, the monitoring system 330 may instruct theformatting module 520 to disable the compressor based on a request by autility company. For example, during peak load times, the utilitycompany may request air conditioning to be turned off in return for adiscount on electricity prices. This shut off can be implemented via themonitoring system 330.

A water monitoring module 544 may monitor the conduction sensor 384, thefloat switch 376, and the condensate sensor 380. For example, when aresistivity of the conduction sensor 384 decreases below a certainvalue, which would happen in the presence of water, the water monitoringmodule 544 may signal to the error module 540 that water is present.

The water monitoring module 544 may also detect when the float switch376 detects excessive water, which may be indicated by a closing or anopening of the float switch 376. The water monitoring module 544 mayalso detect when resistivity of the condensate sensor 380 changes. Invarious implementations, detection of the condensate sensor 380 may notbe armed until a baseline current reading is made, such as at the timewhen the air handler monitor module 322 is powered on. Once thecondensate sensor 380 is armed, a change in current may be interpretedas an indication that a blockage has occurred. Based on any of thesewater signals, the water monitoring module 544 may signal to the errormodule 540 that the compressor should be disabled.

A temperature tracking module 548 tracks temperatures of one or moreHVAC components. For example, the temperature tracking module 548 maymonitor the temperature of supply air and of return air. The temperaturetracking module 548 may provide average values of temperature to theformatting module 520. For example only, the averages may be runningaverages. The filter coefficients of the running averages may bepredetermined and may be modified by the monitoring system 330.

The temperature tracking module 548 may monitor one or more temperaturesrelated to the air conditioning system. For example, a liquid lineprovides refrigerant to an expansion valve of the air handler unit 304from a condenser of the condensing unit 308. A temperature may bemeasured along the refrigerant line before and/or after the expansionvalve. The expansion valve may include, for example, a thermostaticexpansion valve, a capillary tube, or an automatic expansion valve.

The temperature tracking module 548 may additionally or alternativelymonitor one or more temperatures of an evaporator coil of the airhandler unit 304. The temperatures may be measured along the refrigerantline at or near the beginning of the evaporator coil, at or near an endof the evaporator coil, or at one or more midpoints. In variousimplementations, the placement of the temperature sensor may be dictatedby physical accessibility of the evaporator coil. The temperaturetracking module 548 may be informed of the location of the temperaturesensor. Alternatively, data about temperature location may be stored aspart of installation data, which may be available to the formattingmodule 520 and/or to the monitoring system 330, which can use thisinformation to accurately interpret the received temperature data.

A power calculation module 552 monitors voltage and current. In oneimplementation, these are the aggregate power supply voltage and theaggregate power supply current, which represents the total currentconsumed by all of the components of the air handler unit 304. The powercalculation module 552 may perform a point-by-point power calculation bymultiplying the voltage and current. Point-by-point power values and/oran average value of the point-by-point power is provided to theformatting module 520.

A current recording module 556 records values of the aggregate currentover a period of time. The aggregate current may be sensed by a currentsensor that is installed within the air handler unit 304 or along theelectrical cable providing power to the air handler unit 304 (seecurrent sensor 324 in FIG. 2). For example only, the current sensor maybe located at a master switch that selectively supplies the incomingpower to the air handler unit 304. Alternatively, the current sensor maybe located closer to, or inside of, an electrical distribution panel.The current sensor may be installed in line with one or more of theelectrical wires feeding current from the electrical distribution panelto the air handler unit 304.

The aggregate current includes current drawn by all energy-consumingcomponents of the air handler unit 304. For example only, theenergy-consuming components can include a gas valve solenoid, anigniter, a circulator blower motor, an inducer blower motor, a secondaryheat source, an expansion valve controller, a furnace control panel, acondensate pump, and a transformer, which may provide power to athermostat. The energy-consuming components may also include the airhandler monitor module 322 itself and the condensing monitor module 316.

It may be difficult to isolate the current drawn by any individualenergy-consuming component. Further, it may be difficult to quantify orremove distortion in the aggregate current, such as distortion that maybe caused by fluctuations of the voltage level of incoming AC power. Asa result, processing is applied to the current, which includes, forexample only, filtering, statistical processing, and frequency domainprocessing.

In the implementation of FIG. 4A, the time domain series of currentsfrom the current recording module 556 is provided to a fast Fouriertransform (FFT) module 560, which generates a frequency spectrum fromthe time domain current values. The length of time and the frequencybins used by the FFT module 560 may be configurable by the monitoringsystem 330. The FFT module 560 may include, or be implemented by, adigital signal processor (DSP). In various implementations, the FFTmodule 560 may perform a discrete Fourier transform (DFT). The currentrecording module 556 may also provide raw current values, an averagecurrent value (such as an average of absolute values of the current), oran RMS current value to the formatting module 520.

A clock 564 allows the formatting module 520 to apply a time stamp toeach data frame that is generated. In addition, the clock 564 may allowthe trigger module 536 to periodically generate a trigger signal. Thetrigger signal may initiate collection and/or storage and processing ofreceived data. Periodic generation of the trigger signal may allow themonitoring system 330 to receive data from the air handler monitormodule 322 frequently enough to recognize that the air handler monitormodule 322 is still functioning.

A voltage tracking module 568 measures the AC line voltage, and mayprovide raw voltage values or an average voltage value (such as anaverage of absolute values of the voltage) to the formatting module 520.Instead of average values, other statistical parameters may becalculated, such as RMS (root mean squared) or mean squared.

Based on the trigger signal, a series of frames may be generated andsent. For example only, the frames may be generated contiguously for 105seconds and then intermittently for every 15 seconds until 15 minuteshas elapsed. Each frame may include a time stamp, RMS voltage, RMScurrent, real power, average temperature, conditions of status signals,status of liquid sensors, FFT current data, and a flag indicating thesource of the trigger signal. Each of these values may correspond to apredetermined window of time, or, frame length.

The voltage and current signals may be sampled by an analog-todigitalconverter at a certain rate, such as 1920 samples per second. The framelength may be measured in terms of samples. When a frame is 256 sampleslong, at a sample rate of 1920 samples per second, there are 7.5 framesevery second (or, 0.1333 seconds per frame). Generation of the triggersignal is described in more detail below in FIG. 7. The sampling rate of1920 Hz has a Nyquist frequency of 960 Hz and therefore allows an FFTbandwidth of up to approximately 960 Hz. An FFT limited to the time spanof a single frame may be calculated by the FFT module 560 for each ofthe frames.

The formatting module 520 may receive a request for a single frame fromthe monitoring system 330. The formatting module 520 therefore providesa single frame in response to the request. For example only, themonitoring system 330 may request a frame every 30 seconds or some otherperiodic interval, and the corresponding data may be provided to acontractor monitoring the HVAC system in real time.

In FIG. 4B, an example implementation of the condensing monitor module316 is shown. Components of the condensing monitor module 316 may besimilar to components of the air handler monitor module 322 of FIG. 4A.For example only, the condensing monitor module 316 may include the samehardware components as the air handler monitor module 322, where unusedcomponents, such as the wireless transceiver 512, are simply disabled ordeactivated. In various other implementations, a circuit board layoutmay be shared between the air handler monitor module 322 and thecondensing monitor module 316, with various locations on the printedcircuit board being depopulated (corresponding to components present inthe air handler monitor module 322 but not implemented in the condensingmonitor module 316).

The current recording module 556 of FIG. 4B receives an aggregatecurrent value (such as from current sensor 320 of FIG. 2) thatrepresents the current to multiple energy-consuming components of thecondensing unit 308. The energy-consuming components may include startwindings, run windings, capacitors, and contactors/relays for acondenser fan motor and a compressor motor. The energy-consumingcomponents may also include a reversing valve solenoid, a control board,and in some implementations the condensing monitor module 316 itself.

In the condensing monitoring module 316, the temperature tracking module548 may track an ambient temperature. When the condensing monitor module316 is located outdoors, the ambient temperature represents an outsidetemperature. As discussed above, the temperature sensor supplying theambient temperature may be located outside of an enclosure housing acompressor or condenser. Alternatively, the temperature sensor may belocated within the enclosure, but exposed to circulating air. In variousimplementations the temperature sensor may be shielded from directsunlight and may be exposed to an air cavity that is not directly heatedby sunlight. In various implementations, online (includingInternet-based) weather data based on geographical location of thebuilding may be used to determine sun load, ambient air temperature,precipitation, and humidity.

The temperature tracking module 548 may monitor temperatures of therefrigerant line at various points, such as before the compressor(referred to as a suction line temperature), after the compressor(referred to as a compressor discharge temperature), after the condenser(referred to as a liquid line out temperature), and/or at one or morepoints along the condenser coil. The location of temperature sensors maybe dictated by a physical arrangement of the condenser coils. Duringinstallation, the location of the temperature sensors may be recorded.

Additionally or alternatively, a database may be available thatspecifies where temperature sensors are placed. This database may bereferenced by installers and may allow for accurate cloud processing ofthe temperature data. The database may be used for both air handlersensors and compressor/condenser sensors. The database may beprepopulated by the monitoring company or may be developed by trustedinstallers, and then shared with other installation contractors. Thetemperature tracking module 548 and/or a cloud processing function maydetermine an approach temperature, which is a measurement of how closethe condenser has been able to make the liquid line out temperature tothe ambient air temperature.

In FIG. 5A, the air handler unit 208 of FIG. 1 is shown for reference.Because the systems of the present disclosure can be used in retrofitapplications, elements of the air handler unit 208 can remainunmodified. The air handler monitor module 600 and the condensingmonitor module 640 can be installed in an existing system withoutneeding to replace the original thermostat 122 shown in FIG. 1. However,to enable certain additional functionality, such as WiFi communicationand/or display of alert messages, the thermostat 122 of FIG. 1 may bereplaced with the thermostat 364, as shown.

When installing an air handler monitor module 600 in the air handlerunit 208, power is provided to the air handler monitor module 600. Forexample, a transformer 604 can be connected to an AC line in order toprovide AC power to the air handler monitor module 600. The air handlermonitor module 600 may measure voltage of the incoming line based onthis transformed power supply. For example, the transformer 604 may be a10-to-1 transformer and therefore provide either a 12V or 24V AC supplyto the air handler monitor module 600 depending on whether the airhandler unit 208 is operating on nominal 120V or nominal 240V power.

A current sensor 608 measures incoming current to the air handler unit208. The current sensor 608 may include a current transformer that snapsaround one power lead of the incoming AC power. For simplicity ofillustration, the control module 118 is not shown to be connected to thevarious components and sensors of the air handler unit 208. In addition,routing of the AC power to various powered components of the air handlerunit 208, such as the circulator blower 114, the gas valve 128, and theinducer blower 134, are also not shown for simplicity. The currentsensor 608 measures the entire current entering the air handler unit 208and therefore represents an aggregate current of voltage of each of thecurrent-consuming components of the air handler unit 208.

A condensate sensor 612 measures condensate levels in the condensate pan196. If a level of condensate gets too high, this may indicate a plug inthe condensate pan 196 or a problem with hoses or pumps used fordrainage from the condensate pan 196. Although shown in FIG. 5A as beinginternal to the air handler unit 208, access to the condensate pan 196and therefore the location of the condensate sensor 612, may be externalto the air handler unit 208.

A return air sensor 616 is located in a return air plenum 620. Thereturn air sensor 616 may measure temperature, pressure, and/or massairflow. In various implementations, a thermistor may be multiplexed asboth a temperature sensor and a hot wire mass airflow sensor. In variousimplementations, the return air sensor 616 is upstream of the filter 110but downstream of any bends in the return air plenum 620. A supply airsensor 624 is located in a supply air plenum 628. The supply air sensor624 may measure air temperature, air pressure, and/or mass air flow. Thesupply air sensor 624 may include a thermistor that is multiplexed tomeasure both temperature and, as a hot wire sensor, mass airflow. Invarious implementations, such as is shown in FIG. 5A, the supply airsensor 624 may be located downstream of the evaporator 192 but upstreamof any bends in the supply air plenum 628.

The air handler monitor module 600 also receives a suction linetemperature from a suction line temperature sensor 632. The suction linetemperature sensor 632 measures refrigerant temperature in therefrigerant line between the evaporator 192 and the compressor 180(shown in FIG. 5B). A liquid line temperature sensor 636 measuresrefrigerant temperature of refrigerant in a liquid line traveling fromthe condenser 184 (shown in FIG. 5B) to the expansion valve 188. The airhandler monitor module 600 may include one or more expansion ports toallow for connection of additional sensors and/or to allow connection toother devices, such as a home security system, a proprietary handhelddevice for use by contractors, or a portable computer.

The air handler monitor module 600 also monitors control signals fromthe thermostat 364. Because one or more of these control signals is alsotransmitted to the condensing until is also transmitted to thecondensing unit 212 (shown in FIG. 5B), these control signals can beused for communication between the air handler monitor module 600 and acondensing monitor module 640 (shown in FIG. 5B). The air handlermonitor module 600 communicates with the customer router 338, such asusing IEEE 802.11, also known as WiFi. As discussed above although WiFiis discussed in this example, communication according to the presentdisclosure can be performed over a variety of wired and wirelesscommunication protocols.

The thermostat 364 may also communicate with the customer router 338using WiFi. In various implementations, the air handler monitor module600 and the thermostat 364 do not communicate directly; however, becausethey are both connected through the customer router 338 to a remotemonitoring system, the remote monitoring system may allow for control ofone based on inputs from the other. Specifically, various faultsidentified based on information from the air handler monitor module 600may cause the remote monitoring system to adjust temperature set pointsof the thermostat 364 and/or display warning or alert messages on thethermostat 364.

In FIG. 5B, the condensing monitor module 640 is installed in thecondensing unit 212. A transformer 650 converts incoming AC voltage intoa stepped-down voltage for powering the condensing monitor module 640.In various implementations, the transformer 650 may be a 10-to-1transformer. A current sensor 654 measures current entering thecondensing unit 212. The condensing monitor module 640 may also measurevoltage from the supply provided by the transformer 650. Based onmeasurements of the voltage and current, the condensing monitor module640 may calculate power and/or may determine power factor. As describedabove, the condensing monitor module 640 communicates with the airhandler monitor module 600 using one or more control signals from thethermostat 364. In these implementations, data from the condensingmonitor module 640 is transmitted to the air handler monitor module 600,which in turn uploads the data by the customer router 338.

In FIG. 5C, the air handler monitor module 600 and the thermostat 364are shown communicating, using the customer router 338, with amonitoring system 660 via the Internet 334. The monitoring system 660includes a monitoring server 664 which receives data from the airhandler monitor module 600 and the thermostat 364 and maintains andverifies network continuity with the air handler monitor module 600. Themonitoring server 664 executes various algorithms to identify problems,such as failures or decreased efficiency, and to predict impendingfaults.

The monitoring server 664 notifies a review server 668 when a problem isidentified or a fault is predicted. A technician device 672 operated bya technician is used to review this information and monitor, such as inreal-time, data from the air handler monitor module 600 via themonitoring server 664. The technician using the technician device 672verifies the problem or fault and assuming that the problem or fault iseither already present or impending, instructs the review server 668 tosend an alert to either or both of a contractor device 676 or a customerdevice 680. In various implementations, minor problems may be reportedto the contractor device 676 only so as not to alarm the customer orinundate the customer with alerts. In various implementations, thetechnician device 672 may be remote from the monitoring system 660 butconnected via a wide area network. For example only, the techniciandevice may include a computing device such as a laptop, desktop, ortablet.

With the contractor device 676, the contractor can access a contractorportal 684, which provides historical and real-time data from the airhandler monitor module 600. The contractor using the contractor device676 may also contact the technician using the technician device 672. Thecustomer using the customer device 680 may access a customer portal 688in which a graphical view of the system status as well as alertinformation is shown. The contractor portal 684 and the customer portal688 may be implemented in a variety of ways according to the presentdisclosure, including as an interactive web page, a computerapplication, and/or an app for a smartphone or tablet.

In various implementations, data shown by the customer portal may bemore limited and/or more delayed when compared to data visible in thecontractor portal 684. In various implementation, the contractor device676 can be used to request data from the air handler monitor module 600,such as when commissioning a new installation.

In FIG. 6A, a brief overview of an example monitoring systeminstallation, such as in a retrofit application, is presented. AlthoughFIGS. 6 and 7 are drawn with arrows indicating a specific order ofoperation, the present disclosure is not limited to this specific order.At 704, mains power to the air handler is disconnected. If there is nooutside disconnect for the mains power to the compressor/condenser unit,mains power to the compressor/condenser unit should also be disconnectedat this point. At 708, the cool line is disconnected from the HVACcontrol module and connected to the air handler monitor module. At 712,the switched cool line from the air handler monitor module is connectedto the HVAC control module where the cool line was previously connected.

At 716, fan, heat, and common lines from the air handler monitor moduleare connected to terminals on the HVAC control module. In variousimplementations, the fan, heat, and common lines originally going to theHVAC control module may be disconnected and connected to the air handlermonitor module. This may be done for HVAC control modules whereadditional lines cannot be connected in parallel with the original fan,heat, and common lines.

At 720, a current sensor such as a snap-around current transformer, isconnected to mains power to the HVAC system. At 724, power and commonleads are connected to the HVAC transformer, which may provide 24 voltpower to the air handler monitor module. In various implementations, thecommon lead may be omitted, relying on the common lead discussed at 716.Continuing at 728, a temperature sensor is placed in the supply air ductwork and connected to the air handler monitor module. At 732, atemperature sensor is placed in the return air duct work and connectedto the air handler monitor module. At 734, a temperature sensor isplaced in a predetermined location, such as a middle loop, of theevaporator coil. At 736, water sensors are installed and connected tothe air handler monitor module.

At 740, mains power to the compressor/condenser unit is disconnected. At744, the power supply of the condensing monitor module is connected tothe compressor/condenser unit's input power. For example, the condensingmonitor module may include a transformer that steps down the linevoltage into a voltage usable by the condensing monitor module. At 748,a current sensor is attached around the compressor/condenser unit'spower input. At 752, a voltage sensor is connected to thecompressor/condenser unit's power input.

At 756, a temperature sensor is installed on the liquid line, such as atthe input or the output to the condenser. The temperature sensor may bewrapped with insulation to thermally couple the temperature sensor tothe liquid in the liquid line and thermally isolate the temperaturesensor from the environment. At 760, the temperature sensor is placed ina predetermined location of the condenser coil and insulated. At 764,the temperature sensor is placed to measure ambient air. The temperaturesensor may be located outside of the condensing unit 308 or in a spaceof the condensing unit 308 in which outside air circulates. At 768,mains power to the air handler and the compressor/condenser unit isrestored.

In FIG. 6B, an overview of an example installation process for an airhandler monitor module (e.g., the air handler monitor module 600 of FIG.5A) and a condensing monitor module (e.g., the condensing monitor module640 of FIG. 5B) begins at 804, where WiFi connectivity is tested. Forexample only, a contractor may use a portable device, such as a laptop,tablet, or smartphone to assess the customers WiFi. If necessary,firmware updates to the customer router may be necessary.

In addition, it may be necessary for the customer to upgrade theirrouter and/or install a second router or wireless access point to allowfor a strong signal to be received by the air handler monitor module.The remaining installation may be suspended until a viable WiFi signalhas been established or the installation may proceed and commissioningof the system and checking network connectivity can be tested remotelyor in person once a strong WiFi signal is available to the air handlermonitor module. In various implementations, the air handler monitormodule may include a wired network port, which may allow for a run ofnetwork cable to provide network access to the air handler monitormodule for purposes of testing. The cable can be removed after thesystem has been commissioned with the expectation that a strong WiFisignal will subsequently be provided.

For example only, power may be supplied to the air handler monitormodule to ensure that WiFi connectivity is not only present, butcompatible with the air handler monitor module. The power may betemporary, such as a wall-wart transformer or a battery pack, which doesnot remain with the installed air handler monitor module. In variousimplementations, the air handler monitor module may be used to test WiFiconnectivity before attempting any signal detection or troubleshootingwith another device, such as a portable computer.

Control continues at 808, where mains power is disconnected to the airhandler unit. If access to an electrical panel possible, mains power toboth the air handler unit and the condensing unit should be removed assoon as possible in the process. At 812, the installer opens the airhandler unit and at 816, a voltage transformer is installed, connectedto AC power, and connected to the air handler monitor module. At 820, acurrent sensor is attached around one lead of the AC power in put to theair handler unit. At 824, control lines including fan, heat, cooling,and common are connected from the existing control module to the airhandler monitor module.

In various implementations, the air handler monitor module may beconnected in series with one of the control lines, such as the call forcool line. For these implementations, the call for cool line may bedisconnected from the preexisting control module and connected to a leadon a wiring harness of the air handler monitor module. Then a secondlead on the wiring harness of the air handler monitor module can beconnected to the location on the preexisting control module where thecall for cool line had previously been connected.

At 828, the air handler unit is closed and the air handler monitormodule is mounted to the exterior of the air handler unit, such as withtape and/or magnets. At 832, a supply air sensor is installed in a holedrilled in a supply air plenum. The supply air sensor may be a singlephysical device that includes a pressure sensor and a temperaturesensor. Similarly, a return air sensor is installed in a hole drilled ina return air plenum.

At 836, a liquid line temperature sensor is placed on the liquidrefrigerant line leading to the evaporator, and a suction linetemperature sensor is placed on a suction refrigerant line leading tothe compressor. In various implementations, these sensors may bethermally coupled to the respective refrigerant lines using a thermalpaste and may be wrapped in an insulating material to minimize thesensors' responsiveness to surrounding air temperature. At 840, acondensate sensor is installed proximate to the condensate pan andconnected to the air handler monitor module.

At 844, the installer moves to the condensing unit and disconnects mainspower to the condensing unit if not already disconnected. At 848, theinstaller opens the condensing unit and at 852, the installer installs avoltage transformer connected to AC power and attaches leads from thecondensing monitor module to the transformer. At 856, a current sensoris attached around one of the power leads entering the condensing unit.At 860, control lines (including cool and common) from terminals on theexisting control board are connected to the condensing monitor module.At 864, the condensing unit is closed and at 868, mains power to the airhandler unit and condensing unit is restored.

At 872, communication with the remote monitoring system is tested. Thenat 876, the air handler monitor module the condensing monitor module areactivated. At this time, the installer can provide information to theremote monitoring system including identification of control lines thatwere connected to the air handler monitor module and condensing monitormodule. In addition, information such as the HVAC system type, yearinstalled, manufacturer, model number, BTU rating, filter type, filtersize, tonnage, etc.

In addition, because the condensing unit may have been installedseparately from the furnace, the installer may also record and provideto the remote monitoring system the manufacturer and model number of thecondensing unit, the year installed, the refrigerant type, the tonnage,etc. At 880, baseline tests are run. For example, this may includerunning a heating cycle and a cooling cycle, which the remote monitoringsystem records and uses to identify initial efficiency metrics. Further,baseline profiles for current, power, and frequency domain current canbe established. Installation may then be complete.

The installer may collect a device fee, an installation fee, and/or asubscription fee from the customer. In various implementations, thesubscription fee, the installation fee, and the device fee may be rolledinto a single system fee, which the customer pays upon installation. Thesystem fee may include the subscription fee for a set number of years,such as 1, 2, 5, or 10, or may be a lifetime subscription, which maylast for the life of the home or the ownership of the building by thecustomer.

In FIG. 7, a flowchart depicts example operation in capturing frames ofdata. Control begins upon startup of the air handler monitor module at900, where an alive timer is reset. The alive timer ensures that asignal is periodically sent to the monitoring system so that themonitoring system knows that the air handler monitor module is stillalive and functioning. In the absence of this signal, the monitoringsystem 330 will infer that the air handler monitor module ismalfunctioning or that there is connectivity issue between the airhandler monitor module and the monitoring system.

Control continues at 904, where control determines whether a request fora frame has been received from the monitoring system. If such a requesthas been received, control transfers to 908; otherwise, controltransfers to 912. At 908, a frame is logged, which includes measuringvoltage, current, temperatures, control lines, and water sensor signals.Calculations are performed, including averages, powers, RMS, and FFT.Then a frame is transmitted to the monitoring system. In variousimplementations, monitoring of one or more control signals may becontinuous. Therefore, when a remote frame request is received, the mostrecent data is used for the purpose of calculation.

Control then returns to 900. Referring now to 912, control determineswhether one of the control lines has turned on. If so, control transfersto 916; otherwise, control transfers to 920. Although 912 refers to thecontrol line being turned on, in various other implementations, controlmay transfer to 916 when a state of a control line changes—i.e., whenthe control line either turns on or turns off. This change in status maybe accompanied by signals of interest to the monitoring system. Controlmay also transfer to 916 in response to an aggregate current of eitherthe air handler unit or the compressor/condenser unit.

At 920, control determines whether a remote window request has beenreceived. If so, control transfers to 916; otherwise, control transfersto 924. The window request is for a series of frames, such as isdescribed below. At 924, control determines whether current is above athreshold, and if so, control transfers to 916; otherwise, controltransfers to 928. At 928, control determines whether the alive timer isabove a threshold such as 60 minutes. If so, control transfers to 908;otherwise, control returns to 904.

At 916, a window timer is reset. A window of frames is a series offrames, as described in more detail here. At 932, control begins loggingframes continuously. At 936, control determines whether the window timerhas exceeded a first threshold, such as 105 seconds. If so, controlcontinues at 940; otherwise, control remains at 936, logging framescontinuously. At 940, control switches to logging frames periodically,such as every 15 seconds.

Control continues at 944, where control determines whether the HVACsystem is still on. If so, control continues at 948; otherwise, controltransfers to 952. Control may determine that the HVAC system is on whenan aggregate current of the air handler unit and/or of the condensingunit exceeds a predetermined threshold. Alternatively, control maymonitor control lines of the air handler unit and/or the condensing unitto determine when calls for heat or cool have ended. At 948, controldetermines whether the window timer now exceeds a second threshold, suchas 15 minutes. If so, control transfers to 952; otherwise, controlreturns to 944 while control continues logging frames periodically.

At 952, control stops logging frames periodically and performscalculations such as power, average, RMS, and FFT. Control continues at956 where the frames are transmitted. Control then returns to 900.Although shown at the end of frame capture, 952 and 956 may be performedat various times throughout logging of the frames instead of at the end.For example only, the frames logged continuously up until the firstthreshold may be sent as soon as the first threshold is reached. Theremaining frames up until the second threshold is reached may each besent out as it is captured.

In various implementations, the second threshold may be set to a highvalue, such as an out of range high, which effectively means that thesecond threshold will never be reached. In such implementations, theframes are logged periodically for as long as the HVAC system remainson.

A server of the monitoring system includes a processor and memory, wherethe memory stores application code that processes data received from theair handler monitor and condensing monitor modules and determinesexisting and/or impending failures, as described in more detail below.The processor executes this application code and stores received dataeither in the memory or in other forms of storage, including magneticstorage, optical storage, flash memory storage, etc. While the termserver is used in this application, the application is not limited to asingle server.

A collection of servers, which may together operate to receive andprocess data from the air handler monitor and condensing monitor modulesof multiple buildings. A load balancing algorithm may be used betweenthe servers to distribute processing and storage. The presentapplication is not limited to servers that are owned, maintained, andhoused by a monitoring company. Although the present disclosuredescribes diagnostics and processing and alerting occurring in themonitoring system 330, some or all of these functions may be performedlocally using installed equipment and/or customer resources, such as acustomer computer.

The servers may store baselines of frequency data for the HVAC system ofa building. The baselines can be used to detect changes indicatingimpending or existing failures. For example only, frequency signaturesof failures of various components may be pre-programmed, and may beupdated based on observed evidence from contractors. For example, once amalfunctioning HVAC system has been diagnosed, the monitoring system maynote the frequency data leading up to the malfunction and correlate thatfrequency signature with the diagnosed cause of the malfunction. Forexample only, a computer learning system, such as a neural network or agenetic algorithm, may be used to refine frequency signatures. Thefrequency signatures may be unique to different types of HVAC systemsand/or may share common characteristics. These common characteristicsmay be adapted based on the specific type of HVAC system beingmonitored.

The monitoring system may also receive current data in each frame. Forexample, when 7.5 frames per seconds are received, current data having a7.5 Hz resolution is available. The current and/or the derivative ofthis current may be analyzed to detect impending or existing failures.In addition, the current and/or the derivative may be used to determinewhen to monitor certain data, or points at which to analyze obtaineddata. For example, frequency data obtained at a predetermined windowaround a certain current event may be found to correspond to aparticular HVAC system component, such as activation of a hot surfaceigniter.

Components of the present disclosure may be connected to meteringsystems, such as utility (including gas and electric) metering systems.Data may be uploaded to the monitoring system 330 using any suitablemethod, including communications over a telephone line. Thesecommunications may take the form of digital subscriber line (DSL) or mayuse a modem operating at least partially within vocal frequencies.Uploading to the monitoring system 330 may be confined to certain timesof day, such as at night time or at times specified by the contractor orcustomer. Further, uploads may be batched so that connections can beopened and closed less frequently. Further, in various implementations,uploads may occur only when a fault or other anomaly has been detected.

Methods of notification are not restricted to those disclosed above. Forexample, notification of HVAC problems may take the form of push or pullupdates to an application, which may be executed on a smart phone orother mobile device or on a standard computer. Notifications may also beviewed using web applications or on local displays, such as thethermostat 364 or other displays located throughout the building or onthe air handler monitor module 322 or the condensing monitor module 316.

In FIG. 8, control begins at 1004, where data is received and baselinedata is recorded. This may occur during the commissioning of a newmonitoring system, which may be either in a new HVAC system or aretrofit installation. Control continues at 1008, where data is receivedfrom the local devices. At 1012, at the remote monitoring system, thedata is analyzed.

At 1016, control determines whether there is a need for a newconsumable, such as an air filter or humidifier element. If so, controltransfers to 1020; otherwise, control transfers to 1024. At 1020, theconsumable is sent to the customer. The air filter may be sent directlyto the customer from the operator of the remote monitoring system or apartner company. Alternatively, a designated HVAC contractor may beinstructed to send or personally deliver the consumable to the customer.In addition, the HVAC contractor may offer to install the consumable forthe customer or may install the consumable as part of a service plan. Insituations where the customer has not opted for consumable coverage, theremote monitoring system may instead send an alert to the customerand/or the contractor that a replacement consumable is needed. Thisalert may be sent out in advance of when the consumable should bereplaced to give the customer or contractor sufficient time to acquireand install the consumable. Control then returns to 1008.

At 1024, control determines whether there has been an efficiencydecrease. If so, control transfers to 1028; otherwise, control transfersto 1032. At 1028, control determines whether the efficiency decrease isgreater than a first threshold. If so, control transfers to 1036;otherwise, control transfers to 1040. This first threshold may be ahigher threshold indicating that the efficiency decrease is significantand should be addressed. This threshold may be set based on baselineperformance of the customer's system, performance of similar systems ina surrounding area, performance of similar systems throughout a widegeographic area but normalized for environmental parameters, and/orbased on manufacturersupplied efficiency metrics.

At 1036, the customer and designated contractor are notified and controlreturns to 1008. At 1040, control determines whether the efficiencydecrease is greater than a second threshold. This second threshold maybe lower than the first threshold and may indicate gradual deteriorationof the HVAC system. As a result, if the efficiency decrease is greaterthan this second threshold, control transfers to 1044; otherwise,control simply returns to 1008. At 1044, the decrease in efficiency maynot be significant enough to notify the customer; however, thecontractor is notified and control returns to 1008. The contractor mayschedule an appointment with the customer and/or may note the decreasein efficiency for the next visit to the customer.

At 1032, control determines whether a potential fault is predicted basedon data from the local devices at the customer building. If so, controltransfers to 1048; otherwise, control transfers to 1052. At 1048,control determines whether the fault is expected imminently. If so, andif corresponding service is recommended, control transfers to 1056,where the customer and the designated contractor are notified. This mayallow the customer to make arrangements with the contractor and/or makearrangements to secure a backup source of heating or cooling. Forexample only, an imminent fault predicted late at night may be too latefor service by the contractor. The customer may therefore planaccordingly for a potentially cold or warm building in the morning andmake appropriate arrangements. The prediction of the fault may allow forthe contractor to schedule a visit as the contractor opens in themorning. Control then returns to 1008.

If the fault is not expected imminently, or if service is notrecommended, at 1048, the contractor may be notified at 1060. Thecontractor may then schedule a visit to the customer to determinewhether a part should be preemptively replaced and to discuss otherservice options with the customer. Control then returns to 1008. At1052, if a failure is detected, control transfers to 1064; otherwise,control returns to 1008. At 1064, if the failure is verified, such asthrough automatic or manual mechanisms, control transfers to 1066;otherwise, control returns to 1008. At 1066, if the failure isdetermined to be with the monitoring hardware, control transfers to 1060to notify the contractor; otherwise, the failure is with the HVACsystem, and control transfers to 1068. At 1068, the contractor andcustomer are notified of the failure and control returns to 1008.

In various implementations, the customer may be given the option toreceive all data and all alerts sent to the contractor. Although thismay be more information than a regular customer needs, certain customersmay appreciate the additional data and the more frequent contact. Thedeterminations made in 1028, 1040, 1048, 1064, and 1066 may each be madepartially or fully by a technician. This may reduce false positives andconfirm correct diagnosis of failures and faults based on thetechnician's experience with the intricacies of HVAC systems andautomated algorithms.

In FIG. 9, an aggregate current level begins at a non-zero current 1104indicating that at least one energy-consuming component is consumingenergy. A spike in current 1108 may indicate that another component isturning on. Elevated current 1112 may correspond to operation of theinducer blower. This is followed by a spike 1116, which may indicate thebeginning of operation of a hot surface igniter. After opening of asolenoid-operated gas valve, the hot surface igniter may turn off, whichreturns current to a level corresponding to the inducer blower at 1118.The current may remain approximately flat 1120 until a current ramp 1124begins, indicating the beginning of circulator blower operation. A spike1128 may indicate transition from starting to running of the circulatorblower.

In FIG. 10A, the customer device 680 is shown with an examplerepair/replace interface. This interface assists the customer indetermining whether to repair or to replace subsystems of the HVACsystem or the entire HVAC system. Some or all of the followinginformation can be displayed to the customer based on monitored data.The following list is not exhaustive, however, and additionalinformation can be displayed in various situations based on the datareceived from the customer's HVAC system as well as comparative dataobtained from other systems, including repair history information,pricing information, and operating parameters, such as efficiency. Ahistory of repairs 1304 shows the customer what repairs have been done,the corresponding dates, and the corresponding prices. This may includemaintenance, such as filter replacements, tuneups, etc. A projected lifeof the current system 1308 shows how long the current system is expectedto last with regular maintenance and potential replacement of minorparts. A cost of replacement 1312 is calculated based on past historywith previous installations and may include a number of options ofsystems for the customer. For example, a low, medium, and highefficiency system may each be presented. A cost of repairs 1316 depictswhat an expected cost is for current repairs to the HVAC system to bringthe HVAC system up to a reasonable level of performance. A total cost ofownership comparison 1320 shows the customer how much their currentsystem will cost to repair and operate in comparison to the cost of anew system being installed and operated. An energy savings 1324 is shownbased on expected savings from operating a newer, higher efficiencysystem. A return on investment 1328 may depict the break-even point, ifthere is one, that shows where the cost of a new system and its loweroperating costs may fall below the total cost of the current system withincreased operating costs.

In FIG. 10B, the customer device 680 is shown with a repair verificationdisplay. Data received from below the repair can be shown at 1340, andinclude efficiency metrics, such as the absolute efficiency of thesystem and a percentage of efficiency compared to install time,manufacturer guidance, and similar systems. In addition, operationalstatus of components of the HVAC system is shown. For example, if it isdetermined that a flame probe (not shown) has failed, and therefore theHVAC controller cannot detect that a flame is present, the operationalstatus of the flame probe may be shown as failed. Meanwhile, an afterrepair metric or status 1344 shows what the monitoring system determinessubsequent to the repair being performed. A graphical view 1348 may showa graph of efficiency prior to the repair, while a graphical view 1352shows an efficiency subsequent to the repair. Additionally oralternatively, other data may be displayed graphically. For example, atrace of current in a time domain or a frequency domain spectrum ofcurrent may be shown both before in 1348 and after in 1352 withcorresponding notations to indicate the failure in 1348, and, assumingthe repair was successful, the corresponding rectified data in 1352.

In FIG. 10C, the customer device 680 is shown displaying system status,which the customer may view at any time. In 1370, installation, repair,and maintenance history is shown. In addition, current alert status andprevious alerts can be shown. In 1374, contact information for thedesignated or most recent contractor is shown. At 1378, absolute andrelative efficiency of the customer's HVAC system is shown. Efficiencymay be shown both for heating and for cooling, and may be shown inabsolute numbers, and in relation to neighbors' systems, similar systemsin a wider geographic area, manufacturer guidelines, and baselinevalues. In 1382, consumables status is shown. This may show an expectedlife of a consumable, such as a filter or humidifier pad. In addition, atimeline for when consumables have been previously replaced or installedis shown. A graphical indicator may depict how much expected life isremaining in the consumable with an estimated date of replacement. In1386, a graphical view of various system parameters and system data isshown. For example, efficiency since the installation of the monitoringsystem may be shown. A timescale adjustment 1390 allows the customer toview different periods of time, such as the past one year. In addition,the timescale adjustment 1390 may allow the customer to view onlycertain windows of time within each year, such as times when the heatingsystem is active or when the cooling system is active.

In FIG. 11, an example representation of cloud processing is shown,where a processing module 1400 receives event data in the form offrames. The processing module 1400 uses various input data for detectionand prediction of faults. Identified faults are passed to an errorcommunication system 1404. The event data 1402 may be stored uponreceipt from the air handler monitor module and the condensing monitormodule.

The processing module 1400 may then perform each prediction or detectiontask with relevant data from the event data 1402. In variousimplementations, certain processing operations are common to more thanone detection or prediction operation. This data may therefore be cachedand reused. The processing module 1400 receives information aboutequipment configuration 1410, such as control signal mapping.

Rules and limits 1414 determine whether sensor values are out of bounds,which may indicate sensor failures. In addition, the rules and limits1414 may indicate that sensor values cannot be trusted when parameterssuch as current and voltage are outside of predetermined limits. Forexample only, if the AC voltage sags, such as during a brownout, datataken during that time may be discarded as unreliable.

De-bouncing and counter holds 1418 may store counts of anomalydetection. For example only, detection of a single solenoid-operated gasvalve malfunction may increment a counter, but not trigger a fault. Onlyif multiple solenoid-operated gas valve failures are detected is anerror signaled. This can eliminate false positives. For example only, asingle failure of an energy-consuming component may cause acorresponding counter to be incremented by one, while detection ofproper operation may lead to the corresponding counter being decrementedby one. In this way, if faulty operation is prevalent, the counter willeventually increase to a point where an error is signaled. Records andreference files 1422 may store frequency and time domain dataestablishing baselines for detection and prediction. De-bouncingencompasses an averaging process that may remove glitches and/or noise.For example, a moving or windowed average may be applied to inputsignals to avoid spurious detection of a transition when in fact only aspike (or, glitch) of noise was present.

A basic failure-to-function fault may be determined by comparing controlline state against operational state based on current and/or power.Basic function may be verified by temperature, and improper operationmay contribute to a counter being incremented. This analysis may rely onreturn air temperature, supply air temperature, liquid line intemperature, voltage, current, real power, control line status,compressor discharge temperature, liquid line out temperature, andambient temperature.

Sensor error faults may be detected by checking sensor values foranomalous operation, such as may occur for open-circuit or short-circuitfaults. The values for those determinations may be found in the rulesand limits 1414. This analysis may rely on return air temperature,supply air temperature, liquid line in temperature (which may correspondto a temperature of the refrigerant line in the air handler, before orafter the expansion valve), control line status, compressor dischargetemperature, liquid line out temperature, and ambient temperature.

When the HVAC system is off, sensor error faults may also be diagnosed.For example, based on control lines indicating that the HVAC system hasbeen off for an hour, processing module 1400 may check whether thecompressor discharge temperature, liquid line out temperature, andambient temperature are approximately equal. In addition, the processingmodule 1400 may also check that the return air temperature, the supplyair temperature, and the liquid line in temperature are approximatelyequal.

The processing module 1400 may compare temperature readings and voltagesagainst predetermined limits to determine voltage faults and temperaturefaults. These faults may cause the processing module 1400 to ignorevarious faults that could appear present when voltages or temperaturesare outside of the predetermined limits.

The processing module 1400 may check the status of discrete sensors todetermine whether specifically-detected fault conditions are present.For example only, the status of condensate, float switch, and floorsensor water sensors are checked. The water sensors may be cross-checkedagainst operating states of the HVAC system. For example only, if theair conditioning system is not running, it would not be expected thatthe condensate tray would be filling with water. This may insteadindicate that one of the water sensors is malfunctioning. Such adetermination could initiate a service call to fix the sensor so that itcan properly identify when an actual water problem is present.

The processing module 1400 may determine whether the proper sequence offurnace initiation is occurring. This may rely on event and dailyaccumulation files 1426. The processing module 1400 may perform statesequence decoding, such as by looking at transitions as shown in FIG.10B and expected times during which those transitions are expected.Detected furnace sequences are compared against a reference case anderrors are generated based on exceptions. The furnace sequence may beverified with temperature readings, such as observing whether, while theburner is on, the supply air temperature is increasing with respect tothe return air temperature. The processing module 1400 may also use FFTprocessing to determine that the sparker or igniter operation andsolenoid-operated gas valve operation are adequate.

The processing module 1400 may determine whether a flame probe or flamesensor is accurately detecting flame. State sequence decoding may befollowed by determining whether a series of furnace initiations areperformed. If so, this may indicate that the flame probe is notdetecting flame and the burner is therefore being shut off. Thefrequency of retries may increase over time when the flame probe is notoperating correctly.

The processing module 1400 may evaluate heat pump performance bycomparing thermal performance against power consumption and unithistory. This may rely on data concerning equipment configuration 1410,including compressor maps when available.

The processing module 1400 may determine refrigerant level of the airconditioning system. For example, the processing module 1400 may analyzethe frequency content of the compressor current and extract frequenciesat the third, fifth, and seventh harmonics of the power linefrequencies. This data may be compared, based on ambient temperature, tohistorical data from when the air conditioning system was known to befully charged. Generally, as charge is lost, the surge frequency maydecrease. Additional data may be used for reinforcement of a lowrefrigerant level determination, such as supply air temperature, returnair temperature, liquid line in temperature, voltage, real power,control line status, compressor discharge temperature, and liquid lineout temperature.

The processing module 1400 may alternatively determine a low refrigerantcharge by monitoring deactivation of the compressor motor by a protectorswitch, may indicate a low refrigerant charge condition. To preventfalse positives, the processing module 1400 may ignore compressor motordeactivation that happens sooner than a predetermined delay after thecompressor motor is started, as this may instead indicate anotherproblem, such as a stuck rotor.

The processing module 1400 may determine the performance of a capacitorin the air handler unit, such as a run capacitor for the circulatorblower. Based on return air temperature, supply air temperature,voltage, current, real power, control line status, and FFT data, theprocessing module 1400 determines the time and magnitude of the startcurrent and checks the start current curve against a reference. Inaddition, steady state current may be compared over time to see whetheran increase results in a corresponding increase in the differencebetween the return air temperature and the supply air temperature.

Similarly, the processing module 1400 determines whether the capacitorin the compressor/condenser unit is functioning properly. Based oncompressor discharge temperature, liquid line out temperature, ambienttemperature, voltage, current, real power, control line status, and FFTcurrent data, control determines a time and magnitude of start current.This start current is checked against a reference in the time and/orfrequency domains. The processing module 1400 may compensate for changesin ambient temperature and in liquid line in temperature. The processingmodule 1400 may also verify that increases in steady state currentresult in a corresponding increase in the difference between thecompressor discharge temperature and the liquid line in temperature.

The processing module may calculate and accumulate energy consumptiondata over time. The processing module may also store temperatures on aperiodic basis and at the end of heat and cool cycles. In addition, theprocessing module 1400 may record lengths of run times. An accumulationof run times may be used in determining the age of wear items, which maybenefit from servicing, such as oiling, or preemptive replacing.

The processing module 1400 may also grade the customer's equipment. Theprocessing module 1400 compares heat flux generated by the HVACequipment against energy consumption. The heat flux may be indicated byreturn air temperature and/or indoor temperature, such as from athermostat. The processing module 1400 may calculate the envelope of thebuilding to determine the net flux. The processing module 1400 maycompare the equipment's performance, when adjusted for buildingenvelope, against other similar systems. Significant deviations maycause an error to be indicated.

The processing module 1400 uses a change in current or power and thetype of circulator blower motor to determine the change in load. Thischange in load can be used to determine whether the filter is dirty. Theprocessing module 1400 may also use power factor, which may becalculated based on the difference in phase between voltage and current.Temperatures may be used to verify reduced flow and eliminate otherpotential reasons for observed current or power changes in thecirculator blower motor. The processing module 1400 may also determinewhen an evaporator coil is closed. The processing module 1400 uses acombination of loading and thermal data to identify the signature of acoil that is freezing or frozen. This can be performed even when thereis no direct temperature measurement of the coil itself.

FFT analysis may show altered compressor load from high liquid fraction.Often, a frozen coil is caused by a fan failure, but the fan failureitself may be detected separately. The processing module 1400 may usereturn air temperature, supply air temperature, liquid line intemperature, voltage, current, real power, and FFT data from both theair handler unit and the compressor condenser unit. In addition, theprocessing module 1400 may monitor control line status, switch statuses,compressor discharge temperature, liquid line out temperature, andambient temperature. When a change in loading occurs that might beindicative of a clogged filter, but the change happened suddenly, adifferent cause may be to blame.

The processing module 1400 identifies a condenser blockage by examiningthe approach temperature, which is the difference between the liquidline out temperature and the ambient temperature. When the refrigeranthas not been sufficiently cooled from the condenser dischargetemperature (the input to the condenser) to the liquid line outtemperature (output of the condenser), adjusted based on ambienttemperature, the condenser may be blocked. Other data can be used toexclude other possible causes of this problem. The other data mayinclude supply air temperature, return air temperature, voltage,current, real power, FFT data, and control line status both of the airhandler unit and the compressor condenser unit.

The processing module 1400 determines whether the installed equipment isoversized for the building. Based on event and daily accumulation files,the processing module evaluates temperature slopes at the end of theheating and/or cooling run. Using run time, duty cycle, temperatureslopes, ambient temperature, and equipment heat flux versus buildingflux, appropriateness of equipment sizing can be determined. Whenequipment is oversized, there are comfort implications. For example, inair conditioning, short runs do not circulate air sufficiently, somoisture is not pulled out of the air. Further, the air conditioningsystem may never reach peak operating efficiency during a short cycle.

The processing module 1400 evaluates igniter positive temperaturecoefficient based on voltage, current, real power, control line status,and FFT data from the air handler unit. The processing module comparescurrent level and slope during warm-up to look for increased resistance.Additionally, the processing module may use FFT data on warm-up todetect changes in the curve shape and internal arcing.

The processing module also evaluates igniter negative temperaturecoefficient based on voltage, current, real power, control line status,and FFT data from the air handler unit. The processing module 1400compares current level and slope during warm-up to look for increasedresistance. The processing module 1400 checks initial warm-up and troughcurrents. In addition, the processing module 1400 may use FFT datacorresponding to warm-up to detect changes in the curve shape andinternal arcing.

The processing module 1400 can also evaluate the positive temperaturecoefficient of a nitride igniter based on voltage, current, real power,control line status, and FFT data from the air handler unit. Theprocessing module 1400 compares voltage level and current slope duringwarm-up to look for increased resistance. In addition, the processingmodule 1400 uses FFT data corresponding to warm-up to detect changes inthe curve shape, drive voltage pattern, and internal arcing. Changes indrive voltage may indicate igniter aging, so those adjustments should bedistinguished from changes to compensate for gas content and otherfurnace components.

In FIG. 12A, a table depicts example faults and features, with respectto the air handler unit, that can be detected and/or predicted. Each rowcorresponds to a fault or feature that may be detected or predicted, andan asterisk is located in each column used to make the detection orprediction. For both detection and prediction, some data may be used asthe primary data for making the determination, while other data is usedfor compensation. Temperatures and voltages are used to performcompensation for those rows having an asterisk in the correspondingcolumn.

The primary columns include timing of when events are detected, timedomain current information, temperatures (including building temperatureas measured by the thermostat), pressures (such as refrigerant systempressures and/or air pressures), FFT data, and direct detection. Directdetection may occur when a status or control line directly indicates thefault or feature, such as when a water sensor indicates an overfullcondensate tray.

In FIG. 12B, a table depicts example faults and features, with respectto the compressor/condenser unit, that can be detected and/or predicted.In FIG. 12B, outside ambient temperature and voltages may be used tocompensate primary data.

A monitoring company, which may or may not be affiliated with an HVACcontractor, an HVAC original equipment manufacturer, or an HVACsupplier, offers a monitoring service. The monitoring service mayinclude one or more levels of service, where the levels of service maydiffer in terms of amount of diagnostics, specificity of data, etc. Themonitoring service collects data from local devices connected to HVACequipment in a building. Although the term HVAC is used, the principlesof the present disclosure apply to any environmental comfort system,which may include one or more devices such as heat pumps, airconditioners, or furnaces.

The local devices may be integrated with HVAC equipment by an HVACoriginal equipment manufacturer or a value added reseller. The localdevices may also be installed by an HVAC contractor as the HVAC systemis being installed or upgraded, or as a later retrofit.

A customer can subscribe to the monitoring service when the localdevices are ready to send data. The principles of the present disclosurealso apply to HVAC systems installed in businesses, where a buildingmanager or landlord may subscribe to the monitoring service. Tieredpricing may allow the monitoring service to offer more sophisticatedmonitoring to businesses. Monitoring for specialized environments, suchas a tobacco-drying barn, may be priced higher and may include otherforms of monitoring, such as humidity.

Costs for the monitoring service include the monitoring service itself,the cost of the local devices, and the cost of installation of the localdevices. For the monitoring service, the monitoring company may charge aperiodic rate, such as a monthly or annual rate. The monitoring companymay offer plans where monitoring is prepaid in increments such as oneyear, five years, ten years, etc. The monitoring company may offerdiscounts for prepayment.

The cost of the monitoring service may be billed directly to thecustomer or may be billed to a contractor. The contractor may pass alongthe cost of the monitoring service to the customer. This may be done atthe same interval as the contractor is billed. Alternatively, thecontractor may receive an up-front payment for the monitoring serviceupon installation of the local devices.

For example only, a contractor may offer a monitoring package uponinstallation of a new HVAC system. The package may include the costs ofthe local devices, installation of the local devices, and apredetermined monitoring period. For example only, the contractor mayoffer a ten-year monitoring package that will provide for ten years ofthe monitoring service. The contractor may pre-pay the monitoringcompany for ten years of service at the time of installation so that thecustomer is assured of monitoring without concerns about whether thecontractor will be in business for ten years. The contractor may offer adiscount on the monitoring package when the package is purchased at thetime of installation or upgrading of an HVAC system.

When the customer has not prepaid for the monitoring service, thecontractor may subsidize the monitoring service costs as long as thecustomer retains the contractor for service calls and repairs.Contractors may recoup monitoring service costs out of the profit marginof service visits and repairs; contractors may also apply surcharges toservice visits and repairs to recoup costs. If the customer chooses anew contractor, the new contractor may assume the subsidization;alternatively, the customer may begin to pay for the full cost ofmonitoring.

In various implementations, contractors may bundle routine maintenancewith a monitoring package. The routine maintenance may provide forperiodic visits, such as one or two visits per year, to check on theHVAC system. Additionally or alternatively, the contractor may check theHVAC system after a predetermined number of hours of running, or uponthe detection of reduced performance or increased risk of failure. Witha monitoring package, these service calls may be offered free or areduced price. Contractors may also include part discounts and/or labordiscounts along with the monitoring package.

The cost of the local devices may be paid by the contractor or thecustomer at the time of installation. Alternatively, the local devicescould be rented, such as on an annual or monthly basis. The cost of thedevices may be subsidized or born entirely by the monitoring company, tobe recouped by the monitoring service fees. An activation fee may becharged when equipment is first installed, or when monitoring is begun.The activation fee may be paid in installments along with payment forthe monitoring service itself. The activation fee may be refunded orwaived after a certain period of continuous monitoring. The activationfee may be reduced or waived when a previous customer moves to a newlocation. In addition, costs of the local devices and/or theirinstallation may be reduced for a previous customer, with theexpectation that the customer will remain loyal.

In various implementations, the local devices may be left installed evenif they were being rented and the monitoring service is stopped. Thismay be the case when the cost of uninstalling the equipment outweighsthe value of the equipment. In addition, practical problems includepotential unwillingness of customers to grant access to a contractor touninstall equipment for a stopped service. Favorably, by leaving theequipment in place, the original customer or a subsequent customer mayreactivate the monitoring service without requiring any reinstallation.In fact, in various implementations the monitoring service may bere-enabled without a physical visit to the customer's building.

Contractors may subsidize some or all of the above costs for a varietyof reasons. For example, the monitoring company may offer an interfaceto contractors that manages customer data, equipment information, andfault information for customers of the contractor subscribing to themonitoring service. This may reduce administrative overhead for thecontractor. In addition, this may allow for more efficient schedulingand tasking of service visits. For example, location data for customersmay be used to reduce driving distances between service visits. Further,employees can be tasked to service visits for which they have thenecessary skills, and likely replacement parts can be carried on theservice visits. The monitoring service data may also help to prioritizeservice visits and estimate time required to complete the service visit.This management software may be implemented by the monitoring service ormay be packaged and sold for installation by a contractor.

The above benefits also accrue to customers, who can expect shorterservice calls with fewer follow-up visits and parts delays. Betterexperiences with a contractor improve the relationship between thecustomer and the contractor and may decrease customer churn. Further,offering monitoring can be a differentiator with respect to othercontractors in the area.

Additional reasons for contractor subsidization include that themonitoring service may automatically inform contractors of detected orpredicted faults of customer HVAC systems at the same time as thecustomers are being notified. The monitoring service may also offercustomers an interface to observe data related to their HVAC system, andthe monitoring service may display or otherwise provide contactinformation for the contractor that is subsidizing the monitoringexpenses.

The monitoring company, the contractor, and/or a third party may offer aconsumables replacement package in addition to the monitoring service.For example only, new air filters may be shipped to the customer asneeded. The air filter may be shipped when the monitoring systemdetermines a new filter is needed and/or on a calendar basis. Forexample only, the monitoring system may determine that a new air filteris needed when the HVAC circulator fan has run for a certain number ofhours. Additionally or alternatively, the monitoring system maydetermine a new fan is necessary based on an assessment that air flowthrough the existing air filter is restricted.

Other consumables, such as humidifier pads and algae pucks, may also beshipped to the customer on a periodic or as needed basis. The contractormay offer to install the new filters or other consumables during routinemaintenance visits. Visits to install the consumables may be free orreduced price, either as part of a maintenance package, or as a goodwillgesture to increase customer satisfaction with the contractor andprovide for relationship development.

Original equipment manufacturers may also partially or fully subsidizethe cost of the monitoring service, local devices, and installation inreturn for access to information generated by the modules. Theinformation provided to the manufacturers is anonymized—i.e., strippedof any personally identifying data. The information may be furtheranonymized by including no individual data but only aggregate data, suchas averages, standard deviations, totals, etc.

Aggregate data may help manufacturers identify and address commonfailure modes, assess real world efficiency of installed systems, andanalyze equipment usage patterns. The monitoring company may includeequipment information, such as manufacturer and model number, which mayallow for real world comparisons of reliability and efficiency. Thisinformation may be sold to manufacturers or sold to other interestedparties in the HVAC business. The monitoring company may also publish,for free or for profit, information about the benefits of monitoringsystems. For example, low efficiency corrected based on a detection bythe monitoring company may contribute to the monitoring company'smetrics.

Market studies may also be sold or provided that correlate efficiencyand operating parameters with characteristics such as geographicallocation, climate, building type, building size (for example, in squarefeet), age of building, HVAC manufacturer and model, equipment age, etc.The monitoring company may offer the opportunity for paid advertising torelated industries, such as insulation contractors and HVACmanufacturers, for advertising displayed on monitoring reports andonline interfaces to monitoring data.

Utilities, such as gas and electric utilities, may subsidize the costsof the monitoring service, the local devices, and/or the deviceinstallation. Utilities may provide this subsidy in order to reduceconsumption, as monitoring will tend to minimize inefficient HVACoperation. Utilities may also be able to use monitoring data to showreductions in consumption, which may trigger regulators to allow ratesto be raised. Further, utilities are interested in refrigerant chargeverification to ensure proper operation.

In addition, in various implementations, the local devices may beequipped to deactivate components of the HVAC system, such as the airconditioning compressor. The deactivation ability may already be presentin order to prevent damage to the HVAC system upon detection of adangerous condition or to prevent water damage when, for example, theair conditioning condenser tray is in danger of overflowing.

The customer may authorize an electric utility to initiate suchdeactivation at specified times or on specified days, a program that mayreferred to as interruptible service. The local devices may provide alow cost, for both the utility and the customer, opportunity to takeadvantage of interruptible service, without the need for a separateelectrical meter and the associated electrician installation costs. Inreturn for the ability to interrupt the compressor during times of peakusage, the utility may subsidize the monitoring costs, includingequipment, installation, and/or ongoing monitoring. The utility maysubsidize the costs either directly by sending money to the customer orto the monitoring company or indirectly through a decrease in theutility bill.

The monitoring company may charge contractors for certifications andtraining related to installing local devices and administering themonitoring service. The monitoring company may also offer salestraining, for free or for a price, on selling monitoring and maximizingthe benefits to the customer and contractor from monitoring services.The monitoring company may also offer capital loans to contractors thatare actively participating in providing the monitoring service tocustomers.

The monitoring company may also offer financing or provide an interfaceto secure financing for HVAC installation projects. This may allowlarger developments, such as condominiums or new neighborhoods, to bepreinstalled to offer monitoring. The monitoring company may offer, orpartner with a third party who offers, home warranties. The homewarranty may cover HVAC equipment and may include additional significantappliances in the home, such as a hot water heater. The home warrantymay be more comprehensive, including wiring, plumbing, roof, windows,etc. Discounts may be given for purchasing a home warranty inconjunction with a monitoring package.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in noway intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. Thebroad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety offorms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples,the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since othermodifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, thespecification, and the following claims. As used herein, the phrase atleast one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or Bor C), using a non-exclusive logical OR. It should be understood thatone or more steps within a method may be executed in different order (orconcurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure.

In this application, including the definitions below, the term modulemay be replaced with the term circuit. The term module may refer to, bepart of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC); adigital, analog, or mixed analog/digital discrete circuit; a digital,analog, or mixed analog/digital integrated circuit; a combinationallogic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor(shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; memory (shared,dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by a processor; othersuitable hardware components that provide the described functionality;or a combination of some or all of the above, such as in asystem-on-chip.

The term code, as used above, may include software, firmware, and/ormicrocode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes,and/or objects. The term shared processor encompasses a single processorthat executes some or all code from multiple modules. The term groupprocessor encompasses a processor that, in combination with additionalprocessors, executes some or all code from one or more modules. The termshared memory encompasses a single memory that stores some or all codefrom multiple modules. The term group memory encompasses a memory that,in combination with additional memories, stores some or all code fromone or more modules. The term memory may be a subset of the termcomputer-readable medium. The term computer-readable medium does notencompass transitory electrical and electromagnetic signals propagatingthrough a medium, and may therefore be considered tangible andnon-transitory. Non-limiting examples of a non-transitory tangiblecomputer readable medium include nonvolatile memory, volatile memory,magnetic storage, and optical storage.

The apparatuses and methods described in this application may bepartially or fully implemented by one or more computer programs executedby one or more processors. The computer programs includeprocessor-executable instructions that are stored on at least onenon-transitory tangible computer readable medium. The computer programsmay also include and/or rely on stored data.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a heating, ventilation, orair conditioning (HVAC) monitoring service, the method comprising:providing a local device for installation in an HVAC system of aresidential or commercial building; periodically receiving data from thelocal device across a wide area network, wherein the received dataincludes electrical sensor data including at least one of current orpower; storing the received data; analyzing the stored data toselectively identify problems and selectively predict faults of the HVACsystem; receiving a subscription fee corresponding to the building, thesubscription fee applying to a calendar period; and during the calendarperiod, providing information on the identified problems and thepredicted faults to a customer corresponding to the building.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising selling the local device, wherein aprice of the local device includes the subscription fee, and wherein thecalendar period begins when the local device is activated.
 3. The methodof claim 2 wherein the price of the local device includes a lifetimesubscription and the calendar period has no end date.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the building is a residence and the customer is ahomeowner of the residence.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the localdevice is installed by a first HVAC contractor.
 6. The method of claim 5wherein the subscription fee is received from the first HVAC contractor.7. The method of claim 6 wherein the customer pays the first HVACcontractor a service fee for a maintenance plan, and wherein thesubscription fee is paid by the first HVAC contractor from the servicefee.
 8. The method of claim 5 wherein the information on the identifiedproblems and the predicted faults is also provided to the first HVACcontractor.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein additional information onthe identified problems and the predicted faults is provided to thefirst HVAC contractor.
 10. The method of claim 5 further comprisingproviding part information to the first HVAC contractor, wherein thepart information includes a list of one or more parts expected to beused in remedying the identified problems and predicted faults.
 11. Themethod of claim 5 further comprising providing skill information to thefirst HVAC contractor for use in selecting a technician, wherein theskill information includes a list of skills expected to be needed inremedying the identified problems and predicted faults.
 12. The methodof claim 1 further comprising providing a second local device forinstallation at the building.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein thelocal device is located proximate to an air handler unit of the HVACsystem and wherein the second local device is located proximate to acondensing unit of the HVAC system.
 14. The method of claim 13 whereinthe received data includes electrical sensor data of the air handlerunit measured by the local device and includes electrical sensor data ofthe condensing unit measured by the second local device.
 15. The methodof claim 1 wherein providing information includes sending an alertmessage to the customer.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the alertmessage includes at least one of a voicemail message, a text message, oran email message.
 17. The method of claim 15 wherein the alert messageincludes contact information for an HVAC contractor.
 18. The method ofclaim 1 wherein providing information includes calling the customer. 19.The method of claim 1 wherein selectively identifying problems includesselectively identifying a reduced efficiency of the HVAC system inresponse to the stored data.
 20. The method of claim 19 furthercomprising waiting to send information regarding the reduced efficiencyto the customer until the reduced efficiency falls below a threshold.21. The method of claim 20 further comprising determining the thresholdbased on a make and model number of the HVAC system.
 22. The method ofclaim 20 further comprising determining the threshold based on aninitial efficiency determination performed on the HVAC system.
 23. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the wide area network includes the Internet.24. The method of claim 1 further comprising aperiodically receivingdata over the wide area network in response to events in the HVACsystem.
 25. The method of claim 24 wherein the events include at leastone of (i) a request for heating from a thermostat of the HVAC systemand (ii) a request for cooling from the thermostat.
 26. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the electrical sensor data includes current and voltage.27. The method of claim 26 wherein the electrical sensor data includespower and power factor.
 28. The method of claim 1 wherein the electricalsensor data includes frequency domain current data.
 29. The method ofclaim 28 wherein the electrical sensor data includes time domain currentdata having a first resolution, and wherein the frequency domain currentdata was generated by the local device based on time domain current datahaving a second resolution higher than the first resolution.
 30. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the data includes air temperature sensor dataand refrigerant temperature sensor data.
 31. The method of claim 1wherein the data includes air pressure sensor data.
 32. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the data includes refrigerant pressure sensor data. 33.The method of claim 1 further comprising providing aggregated andanonymized data to original equipment manufacturers of HVAC equipment.34. The method of claim 33 wherein the aggregated and anonymized dataincludes system efficiency data.
 35. The method of claim 33 wherein theaggregated and anonymized data includes repair data.
 36. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising comparing received sensor data from before arepair was performed with received sensor data from after the repair wasperformed.
 37. The method of claim 36 further comprising informing thecustomer of a result of the comparison.
 38. The method of claim 37further comprising providing a graph of operating parameters of the HVACsystem including a time period before the repair was performed and atime period after the repair was performed.
 39. The method of claim 1further comprising notifying a technician of the identified problems andthe predicted faults, wherein the technician analyzes the identifiedproblems and the predicted faults before information is provided to thecustomer.
 40. The method of claim 39 further comprising providingcontact information for the technician to an HVAC contractor to allowthe HVAC contractor to discuss the identified problems and the predictedfaults with the technician.
 41. The method of claim 1 further comprisingselectively providing, to the customer, a recommendation to replace aconsumable of the HVAC system.
 42. The method of claim 41 wherein theconsumable is an air filter.
 43. The method of claim 41 furthercomprising shipping the consumable to the building.
 44. The method ofclaim 41 further comprising directing an HVAC contractor to deliver theconsumable to the building.
 45. The method of claim 1 further comprisingselectively providing, to at least one of an HVAC contractor or thecustomer, a recommendation to perform preventative maintenance.
 46. Themethod of claim 45 wherein the preventative maintenance includes one ormore of cleaning evaporator coils of the HVAC system and cleaningcondenser coils of the HVAC system.
 47. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising, in response to identified problems and predicted faults:identifying faulty elements most likely to cause the identified problemsand predicted faults; estimating a repair cost for the faulty elements;estimating a replacement cost for at least a subsystem of the HVACsystem; and providing a graphical interface to the customer includingthe repair cost and the replacement cost.
 48. The method of claim 47wherein the graphical interface includes a repair history of the HVACsystem.
 49. The method of claim 47 wherein the graphical interfaceincludes an estimation of utility costs (i) after repairing the HVACsystem and (ii) after replacing the HVAC system.
 50. The method of claim1 further comprising: providing a graphical interface to the customer;and in the graphical interface, displaying a timeline of operatingparameters of the HVAC system, wherein the operating parameters areobtained from the stored data.
 51. The method of claim 50 wherein theoperating parameters are calculated from the stored data using one ormore mathematical functions.
 52. The method of claim 50 furthercomprising, in the graphical interface, displaying the timeline withgraphical data.
 53. The method of claim 50 further comprising, in thegraphical interface, displaying the timeline with textual data.
 54. Themethod of claim 50 further comprising, in the graphical interface,displaying raw numbers from the stored data.
 55. The method of claim 50wherein the local device was installed in the HVAC system at a firstpoint in time, and wherein the stored data covers from the first pointin time to a present point in time.
 56. The method of claim 55 furthercomprising allowing the customer to zoom in on a selected time period ofthe stored data.